The Golden Orchid
by Ely-Baby
Summary: [Sequel to 'Scarlet'.] Five years after Lily was returned to her family, she is a teacher in a school for magical children, her boyfriend is her brother's Auror partner and her mother is still treating her as if she was a child. But things are about to change: there are mysteries to solve, decisions to make and a lot of growing up to do. But are they ready for any of that?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers: **This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including, but not limited to, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Author's Notes: **This is the sequel to _Scarlet_. In case you can't be bothered to read that story (or you don't want to, and I won't blame you because it's not a story for everybody, please be aware that some scenes are very explicit), I'll stick a summary here: Lily Luna Potter was abducted when she was nine years old by Theodore Nott and Gregory Goyle, owners of an illegal brothel hidden in central London. The two considered her kidnapping their personal vendetta towards Harry Potter for having shunned their previous business. Lily's memory was wiped cleaned, her name was changed to Scarlet, and she was submitted to work as a prostitute until the age of fifteen. On Boxing Day following her fifteen birthday, a young man named Scorpius Malfoy received a two-hour-appointment with her as a Christmas present from his father. It was love at first sight, with her being beautiful and him being civil towards her, and after a lot of vicissitudes and some help from other people, Scorpius managed to return Lily to her family. And they lived happily ever after...

Right, to all my old readers... welcome back! I missed you so much! Hope you're ready to embark on a new adventure with Lily and Scorpius! And this time it really is an adventure: there are murders, unicorn slayers, mysterious plants, an even more mysterious Order and a lot of tasks that await our favourite couple. To all the people who didn't advise me to write a sequel to that story: I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, it was not exactly a choice as much as a necessity. A rabid plot bunny attacked me again and I had to get rid of it. Absolutely, don't read this if you don't want to! I won't hold any grudge against you! :D

Warning! The plot, the themes and the tone of this story are very different from _Scarlet_. And I wanted them to be exactly like that. I don't like clichés and I honestly hate when people write things that have been written and re-written over and over again, and the same thing goes for my works. If I wanted to write something similar to _Scarlet_ I would have just continued to add chapters to that story, right? But that means that if you read that fanfiction for its strong themes, you might be a little disappointed with this sequel. Here there's fluff, romance, adventure, mystery, humour and so much snogging that I feel the urge to warn you for that (I'm not joking, honestly, there's a lot of kissing, so much you might find it cheesy beyond words). There's also a bit of family drama, a lot of emotions, and relationships that will be explored, a lot of family moments and a tinsy bit of sex. There's no cousincest, in case you were wondering. There are references to _Scarlet_, obviously. The style of my writing here is also slightly different from _Scarlet_. This is closer to my actual writing style, which means that chapters are longer, sentences are wordier and descriptions are more detailed.

I also feel the urge to let you know that I drew some inspiration for some of the later chapters directly from I_ndiana Jones and the Last Crusade_. That's to tell you just how adventurous this is going to be! Also, I suck at writing mysteries and crimes, so any constructive criticism about that aspect of the plot is more than welcomed.

This is unbeta'd. Just like _Scarlet_. Sorry for any mistake you might find. I'm not an English mother-tongue. This will be made up of 20 chapters that range from 4,000 to 8,000 words and updates will come twice a week, every Wednesday and Saturday. I've already written and edited all chapters, so updates will be regular.

But you go ahead and enjoy this and if you do... well, the review button is right at the bottom of the page! :D But for now, thank you for reading!

* * *

**Chapter One**

Scorpius pushed the door to Miss Mitzy's School and Day-care for Magical Children open and walked into the building.

At that time of the evening, the school was bustling with life.

The children were screaming and running and hugging the parents that had come to retrieve them, and they were showing them drawings and telling them about their day at the school.

The parents seemed to try very hard to push their little arms into their coats, or to tie up their shoes and drag them outside to the Apparition point.

"Scorpius!" cried a tall, blonde girl, waving enthusiastically as she walked to him with a child wrapped tightly around her leg. "Lily is in the Ladybird Room with the toddlers," she told him needlessly. The Ladybird Room was Lily's classroom and the toddlers were the children to whom she taught. Still, the girl flashed him a smile which he thought had very little to do with the fact that she wanted to give him directions to his girlfriend. At that moment, though, another child went to hug her other leg and she almost tripped over with a gasp.

"Thank you, Mary," chuckled Scorpius as he walked past the crowd of children. He had to pay attention not to stumble over any of those midgets. Honestly, Lily and the other girls had to be saints to work there. Either that or they took some kind of calming potion to survive the day.

He walked into the Teddy Bear Room, where the older children who would have left for Hogwarts the following year were busy stuffing their things in their bags. There was a chorus of "Scorpius!" and some of the boys crowded around him. "Did you send anybody to Azkaban today?" someone asked. "Did you fight with some Dark Wizard?"

He smiled at them and nodded. "Oh yes," he replied, "we sent two Dark Wizards to Azkaban and fought with an Evil Hag." Nope, that was not true. He had sat at his desk all day, doing office work.

There was a murmur of "aaaah!" and "ooooh!" and the children looked at him in awe. Scorpius nodded smugly, then he chose a random head to pat gently and finally he threaded his way through them.

"Go, get ready for when your parents arrive," he told them, "if you're late I will have to send you to Azkaban!" He grinned as they scrambled on their feet to go back to their desks and finish getting ready, some of them laughed and some others looked almost genuinely scared.

He shook his head and kept walking.

The Ladybird Room had a red-painted door with big, black ovals on it to resemble a ladybird. It was the classroom where the toddlers had their lessons. Well, lessons… Most of the time they drew, they listened to stories, performed little plays amongst themselves and played the afternoons away. Lily was usually the one to teach them, even though at times Miss Mitzy herself came for some boring lessons on Wizarding etiquette.

But most of the times Lily was their only teacher.

She was – and Scorpius didn't think that just because he was madly in love with her – absolutely fantastic. No, honestly, she was. All the parents thought that and, even though she had only worked there since the previous September, she had already been nominated employee of the month twice in a row. The children loved her and Miss Mitzy had told Mr and Mrs Potter what a wonderful teacher she made. As if she had been born just for that job.

Scorpius still remembered the previous summer, right after Lily had graduated from Hogwarts, after only four years of school. Her mother had been absolutely terrified that she would go and start a career in the Quidditch League just like she herself had done, and maybe leave Grimmauld Place for some flat somewhere close to where her team trained. On the other hand, her father had been worried that she would have wanted to join the Aurors to be close to Scorpius and maybe fight evil wizards of the same kind as Nott.

Instead, Victoire had told her that at Miss Mitzy's – the school that her son Remus was attending – they were looking for a new teacher to look after the children aged two to five.

And Lily _loved_ children.

And after a first few days to test Lily and her affinity with children, Miss Mitzy herself had seemed to have forgotten all her fears of having an ex-prostitute with a difficult childhood filled with abuses and rapes and tortures close to her precious students. Lily was the sweetest, most patient and adorable young lady she had ever had the fortune to have in her staff. Her words, not Scorpius'.

She had talked to Mr and Mrs Potter and had let them know that she had decided to hire Lily straightaway and to give her the Ladybird classroom. And Lily was just the happiest girl on earth. And when she was happy, then Scorpius was the happy too.

He pushed the door of the Ladybird Room open and peered inside.

His girlfriend – Merlin! How much he loved to say that word when he talked about her! Even if she had been his girlfriend for almost five years now, every time he called her that he felt some kind of nice twisting in his guts (especially in front of Albus when the dark haired man was in between a girlfriend and another) – was crouching next to a child who was painting something with a focused expression on his face. Her cheek was covered in colourful fingermarks and there was another toddler who was using a red marker to colour the white pinafore on her back. Another child was sitting on her thighs and dozing off with his head against her chest.

"She's never going to notice that you are here if you don't call her."

Scorpius turned to find himself staring at his second cousin, a tall, blue-haired man who was leaning against the doorframe.

"I just wanted to—"

"Look at her?" asked Teddy with a grin. "That's sweet."

Scorpius flushed magenta as he tried to mumble something that meant that he didn't just want to look at her. But he himself couldn't understand his words.

"I meant it, Scorpius," Teddy reassured him gently. "I think it's sweet." He turned to look at Lily and sighed. "But she has twelve of those midgets there, she'll never notice if you don't wave at her. Believe me, I have one and it's more than enough to keep you distracted." He took a step towards the middle of the classroom and shouted, "Oi, Lily, your Prince Charming is here."

Scorpius had just the time to half-heartedly roll his eyes at Teddy before he looked at Lily and a dumb smile painted over his face. Lily was beaming at him from amongst the children and he felt the urge to wave faintly at her.

She gently eased the child on her leg into a chair and laughed as she noticed that the one at her back was colouring her pinafore.

Then she crossed the classroom with some quick steps and threw her arms around Scorpius' neck as she stood on tiptoes to kiss him.

Her lips were soft and she tasted of chocolate, but she smelled of crayons and paper.

"Hmm," hummed Scorpius against her lips, "did you have a nice day?"

She tilted her head back and beamed at him. "Oh yes," she replied, "we coloured some cards for Valentine's Day, and then we played hide-and-seek and we had some Chocolate Frogs this afternoon and then we coloured a bit more and—"

He brought a finger to her cheek and traced over the fingermarks. "Yes, you coloured," he chuckled, "and someone coloured you…"

She giggled and kissed him again, her fingers threading in his blond hair.

"Hey Scorpius," called Teddy from the other side of the room, "you are distracting my son's teacher."

Scorpius sighed, and Lily giggled again. She let him go and turned towards the children who – for some reason – were starting to crowd around them.

"Okay," she said, as she picked up a particularly small one, "let's get ready for when Mummy and Daddy come to pick us up. Come on, come on… John, don't push Martha, come on… let's go…"

Scorpius grinned at her as she looked like a mothering woman with all those young children trailing behind her. She was beautiful and she seemed so much at ease with those midgets. He almost felt a desire to—

Scorpius lowered his eyes as someone pulled at his Auror uniform. He lowered his eyes on a little girl who couldn't have been older than three, brown hair and big green eyes. She smiled toothlessly at him and gave him a card with a big heart on it, before running away.

"Thank you," said Scorpius, staring at the card and grinning slightly. Well, he was a heartbreaker, he couldn't do much about that, could he?

"Shall I tell Lily that you are getting valentines from other girls?" chuckled Teddy as he walked to him with little Remus in his arms.

Scorpius sighed and pocketed the card. It was annoying enough that he had to endure his second cousin at work every day, he also had to find him there every evening when he went to pick up his girlfriend at work. And Teddy's sense of humour was really not his cup of tea either. Always so cheerful, always thinking that he was being incredibly funny when he was actually just being a pain…

And yet again, Teddy was the only male relative that he could actually talk to, especially after his father had come back from Azkaban four years before and their relationship had turned as cold as ice.

But despite Scorpius could talk to Teddy, most of the times he felt like he couldn't really talk to him at all. He had truly known in only for five years and he was still his boss anyway. Not someone to whom he could go and tell all his fears and dreams.

"Hello Remus," he said instead, pushing his finger on the little boy's button nose. "Did you have fun today?"

The little boy nodded eagerly. "We coloured!" he told him with a grin, his hair turning pink in excitement. "And we eated chocolate!"

Scorpius chuckled. "I can see you are on a sugar high," he replied. "I'm sure your parents will be absolutely delighted to have to deal with you tonight."

Teddy sighed out loud. "I'm too tired for that today, I think his mother will have to cope with him tonight…" He glanced at Scorpius and grinned. "Either that or his teacher can come and baby-sit him for us, since she was the one feeding him chocolate in the first place…"

"I hardly think so," replied Scorpius dryly, "we are expected at Grimmauld Place for dinner and then—"

"And then you are going to cuddle on the couch until either one of you is too tired to stay there any longer and finally you'll just be off to bed at around ten," he finished for him. "I know."

Yes, it did sound quite boring if Teddy said it like that – and Scorpius didn't think that it would have been much more exciting if _he_ had said it instead – but he wouldn't have had it any other way. They were not a normal couple, they had gone through too much even before they had exchanged their first kiss. He had stared into her eyes as she was raped and whipped and as she begged Nott not to whip him. He had seen her naked and had her throwing herself at him and begging to be taken the first few seconds he had met her.

All they needed now was an absolutely peaceful and unexciting feeling of hominess, where she would just lean her head against his chest and talk to him about the children and the menu at the canteen of the school and the times she had to charm a child's head out of some toy. And he told her about the evil wizards he had to arrest and the office work he was asked to do and the game of Exploding Snap he had played with James during his lunch break.

And that last bit usually went overheard by Lily's brothers and they all decided to play more Exploding Snap after dinner anyway and then his girlfriend's father – who happened to be his boss as well – joined them and then even Mrs Potter played and then—

"You are standing in a room with Lily, but why do I have the distinct feeling that you are nonetheless thinking about her?" asked Teddy, cocking an eyebrow.

Scorpius looked towards his girlfriend. Somehow the classroom had filled with parents who were retrieving the children. Many of them waved and nodded and said good evening to him. He could recognise all of them by now, since he was there every evening to pick her up.

And Lily was handing over children as if they were little treasures and she was talking to the parents and probably explaining what they had done that day, how they had behaved, what they had eaten. Twelve children she had there and yet, she could remember everything about every single one of them.

Yes, that was Lily's gift. _Memory_. An incredible memory that would let her remember everything. Everything she read, everything she saw, everything she heard. For the rest of her life.

The Healers had said that it was almost a miraculous gift. Mrs Potter had dared to ask if it might have been because a big portion of her memory had been erased and thus her head had room for more things to remember. The Healers had said that it was most definitely impossible. Thing was though that before Lily had been taken away she had never showed that incredible gift of remembering everything. Teddy had joked that Scorpius had better not done anything stupid like forgetting their anniversary or call her fat, because Lily would have remembered it for the rest of her life and never let it go.

But Scorpius wasn't worried, because Teddy had overlooked the tiny detail that Lily worshipped him, and that anything he did she just beamed at him and nodded and agreed and looked at him like the knight he was in her head.

But after all, that was all right, because he worshipped her back. And yes, Scorpius felt like an idiot for even thinking this, but if he hadn't loved her, he surely would have already had sex with her by now… In fact, almost five years into their relationship and all he had done was just hugging her through the nights they had slept together. Of course, her soft breathing and her cold nose poking into his neck and her hand on his chest always made him uncomfortably aroused, but he just shifted and tried to think about the last time he had to take a shower at the Ministry with his fellow Aurors and saw Albus naked to automatically cool down his spirit.

Scorpius was twenty-three and still a virgin, and even though it was becoming to feel almost like a burden, he wouldn't have wanted to have it in any other way.

"Well, you are not exactly the best conversational partner, did you know, Scorpius?" asked Teddy with a sigh.

Scorpius looked at him. "Sorry," he said, ruffling up his blond hair, "I was just… thinking."

"Right," replied Teddy, pushing Remus up in his arms, "we're off. I'll see you tomorrow for the eight o'clock shift, alright Auror Malfoy?"

Scorpius nodded. "Bye Remus," he said as the little child leaned in closer to kiss his cheek wetly.

"Bye Lils," called Teddy. "See you tomorrow."

Lily turned to wave goodbye to her cousin, a grin splitting her face in two.

"See you later, Scorpius," he said, patting his shoulder.

"Yeah, bye Teddy," replied Scorpius as the blue-haired man and his son walked out of the classroom.

Scorpius waited patiently for the parents to talk to his girlfriend, and for the children to come to him and pull at his robes asking him to do some magic, and for the people to leave the classroom, and when only one child was left there, he finally felt entitled to make his way to Lily.

"You are so good with those little midgets," he whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

She giggled softly while she turned in his arms and looked up at him. "I love them," she replied seriously, "I want to have a dozen of them."

"Hmm," he murmured, "I think Miss Mitzy will notice if you take twelve of them…"

She shook her head. "No," she replied, "when we get married, Scorpius. I want to have a dozen of them."

He tried to laugh, but she looked quite serious and his laughter died away almost awkwardly. "Well, that would be a first for a Malfoy," he replied with a smile, "we usually only have one child per generation in my family."

Lily beamed at him. "You said you are the first Auror in your family as well," she reminded him, "I think you like to break traditions…"

He lowered his head to kiss her lips. "And I like to break traditions with you…" he whispered to her sweetly.

She kissed him back, but it lasted far too little and soon the only child left there was grabbing Lily's pinafore and attracting her attention. _Urgh, twelve of those things? Was she serious?_

"Oh, Mummy is a bit late, Alfie, isn't she?" she asked the child as she took him in her arms.

The little boy hugged her neck and leaned his head against her shoulder.

Scorpius stared at Lily as she leaned her coloured cheek against the top of his head and kissed him softly. She rocked him gently in her arms as she checked if his bag was packed properly.

Well, after all he could see the allure of having a dozen of those _things_… Especially if Lily had them with him… She looked absolutely perfect with that little boy in her arms and somehow the realisation that one day she might be hugging and rocking his own child made Scorpius' insides melt with happiness.

"I'm sorry I'm late," said a very nervous voice at Scorpius' back.

He turned to look at a thin and pale woman, her dark hair fell untidily over her eyes and she had a pointed hat pushed on her head. The woman crossed the classroom quickly and the moment she walked past Scorpius he could see a bruise on her cheekbone.

"Oh it's no problem at all, Mrs Whittle," replied Lily, smiling. "Alfie has been so good today he—Mrs Whittle, are you alright?" Lily must have spotted the bruise as well, because her face had just painted with apprehension as she looked at the woman.

"Perfectly fine," replied the woman stiffly as she stretched her arms to take the child from Lily. "I'm sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry."

Lily bent to grab the child's bag and handed it to the woman. "Sure, I was just saying that Alfie has—"

"I'm sorry, but I really have to go. Thank you, Lily." She turned on her heels and walked briskly away, leaving both Scorpius and Lily there to stare at her figure disappearing out of the door.

"Well, that was rude…"

"She's never been like that," said Lily urgently, walking back to Scorpius. "Did you see her face?"

Scorpius nodded. "It looked like a nasty bruise she had there."

"It was not there yesterday," said Lily, eyes wide, "and she's never been like that."

Scorpius smiled comfortingly at her. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for that," he said sweetly, "maybe she just fell and needed to go home to heal herself."

Lily bit her bottom lip as she shifted her eyes from Scorpius to the door and back to him. "You think so?" she asked, her voice tiny.

"Of course," he replied, "you'll ask her tomorrow."

She nodded and gave him a small smile.

He smiled back at her, tucking a lock of flaming hair behind her ear. "Where were we?" he breathed, lowering his head to kiss her again. She pressed her body against his and Scorpius moaned against her lips. He brought his hands to her back and caressed her through the pinafore. Merlin, she was divine. He wanted to stay like that forever. Just him and his girlfriend kissing in a deserted classroom for the rest of their lives…

Lily's lips puckered and she feathered some kisses on his lips, before tilting her head back and grinning. "I'll tidy up and get changed and then we should go…" she told him gently. "My mum is making your favourite."

"Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding?" he grinned.

She nodded. "And soup with little pieces of potatoes and bacon…"

"Hmm," he whispered, leaning to brush his nose against hers, "I can't wait. You go and change and I'll tidy up here." He kissed her nose and added, "I insist," before she could protest.

She smiled indulgently at him. "I love you," she murmured, kissing him again.

"I love you too," he replied, and he really meant it, from the bottom of his heart.

oooOOOooo

Ginny twisted the tea towel in her hands.

They were late. Yes, they were only five minutes late, but surely something must have happened. Scorpius knew that she fretted and Lily as well. They knew that they had to be home by seven, otherwise her poor little heart would start beating like that of a songbird.

"They are fine, Mum," said James gently, looking up from the Prophet and staring at her worried face, "I'm sure they are arriving any moment now."

Ginny scowled him. "You can't be sure, James! What if something happened? You should go and check on them… maybe… maybe Scorpius needs help hexing someone… maybe—"

"Last time I went to check on them Lily was snogging Scorpius silly, Mum," he sighed, "the only person that I would have wanted to hex was Scorpius."

Ginny darkened. "And after that time I told them that they always have to be on time, what if…"

Ginny's words died in her throat as the front door opened and Lily's laughter filled every room of Grimmauld Place.

The woman's eyes closed and she took a deep breath of relief. She listened quietly as Lily's shoes fell to the floor, followed probably by Scorpius' and they shed their coats. They walked inside and closed the front door. A few seconds later they were walking into the kitchen, Lily's hand into Scorpius', matching smiles upon their faces and their hair in disarray.

"You are late," thundered Ginny, causing their laughter to cease at once. "What did I tell you last time you were late?"

Lily's hand disentangled itself from Scorpius' as she turned to look at the Grandfather Clock in the corner. Yes, they were only five minutes late, but in five minutes Lily had been taken away from her once already.

"Mum, it's only five minutes," said Lily wearily, bringing her hand to her temple as if to soothe a headache.

"Five minutes that I didn't know where you were!"

"I was with Scorpius at the school, you know it," she replied, her voice seemed almost irritated now as she stared at her.

Ginny bit her bottom lip and turned her back to Lily. When had her daughter started to reply to her like that? Ginny had even let her go and work at the school, and she… she didn't understand. No, Lily didn't understand what even those five minutes did to her. "I was worried sick," she told her, checking the soup on the stove. "I was almost sending James to look for you." She turned and placed her hands on her hips. "Scorpius, you know I worry, why did you dawdle?"

Scorpius swallowed, looking slightly uncomfortable to be put in the middle. Well, Lily was still a little girl, she didn't understand, but Scorpius! He was an Auror! He should have known better.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Potter," he replied softly, "we were just—"

"It's not Scorpius' fault," Lily cut him off, "one of the mothers was late to pick up her child. We had to wait for her." She looked at Ginny as if to dare her to say something else, and Ginny did just that.

"Well, you should have Floo Called to let me know," she insisted.

"I'm not a child, Mum!" snapped Lily, stomping her foot on the floor. Well, what a great display of maturity!

Ginny pressed her lips together. "No, of course not," she replied with hurt in her voice, "when you were a child you always did as I told you. And you were much nicer than this."

Lily took a sharp breath as her eyes filled with tears. "I don't remember what I was like when I was a child you know that!" she cried at her, before turning on her heels and running out of the kitchen.

Ginny felt the tears swell up in her eyes as well as she listened to Lily's feet on the stairs that brought upstairs, then the door of her room slammed closed and an awkward silence descended upon the kitchen.

Ginny's heart was racing in her chest. That was not the first quarrel she had with Lily ever since she had been returned to her. No, it was probably the hundredth, and every time it revolved around the same matter. Lily thought that her mother treated her like a child.

Well, Ginny didn't. Not at all. She just worried. Lily might have forgotten the time she had spent with Nott, lucky her, but Ginny hadn't forgotten the time her child had been away from her. No, she hadn't.

"Mum," called James softly.

She looked at him through her tears and bit her bottom lip. "She doesn't understand that I worry," she whimpered. "She just doesn't…"

"Mum, she does," coaxed James, "but sometimes you worry for nothing… you know, she just feels a bit smothered…"

Ginny brushed away the tears. "Worry for nothing?" she snapped. "How dare you, James? Have you forgotten how it was when she was gone?"

"Mum, she was five minutes late and was with an Auror," replied James gently, "and she is not nine anymore, she has a wand and knows how to protect herself. Remember?"

Ginny shook her head. "You can't understand," she murmured, "you don't have children yet."

"It's my fault, Mrs Potter," said Scorpius, his voice truly pained. "I should have sent a Patronus, I'm sorry."

She looked at him and shook her head again. She didn't know what to say, she probably should have said that it didn't matter, but it did, it did to her. She extinguished the fire under the pot and bit her bottom lip. "I should go and tell her that dinner is ready," she said softly.

"I'll do it," said James, even though Scorpius had already opened his mouth to say just the same thing. He stood up and crossed the kitchen before Ginny could protest and Scorpius could say anything else, and soon he was climbing up the stairs to his sister's room.

oooOOOooo

Lily was crying on her bed, with the soft toy in the shape of a dog pushed forcefully against her chest, when the door was pushed open.

She didn't even pretend to stop whimpering, she just sobbed, "I'm not hungry," and sunk her head deeper in the pillow.

She felt the bed dent behind her and a warm hand gently grabbed her shoulder as the person at her back bent over her. "Oh I'm sure you are," said James sweetly, "after a whole day with those screaming toddlers everybody would be starving…"

Lily rolled on the bed until she was facing James and hugged his waist tightly, sobbing softly against his chest. "I was just five minutes late," she cried, "I didn't mean to… I didn't… I didn't want to make her worry…"

James caressed her long hair and patted her shoulder comfortingly. "I know," he told her, "Lils, Mum is just a bit on edge tonight… you know, she asked Taffy to teach her to make the soup that you like so much and tonight she did it all by herself. Just for you…"

Lily felt her heart sink a bit in her chest. Mum had cooked the soup that she liked so much and Lily had arrived late. But she had been only five minutes and she was with Scorpius. Nothing and nobody could have hurt her, her mother knew that Scorpius was her knight in shining armour. Sometimes her mum just worried for nothing. She was fine… she was not a child… she knew how to take care of herself…

Her stomach rumbled softly and James laughed. "Still thinking that you are not hungry?" he asked her amusedly.

She looked up at him and smiled a little bit. "I'm starving," she confessed, brushing away the tears.

"Well, I am too," he replied, "and I'm sure Scorpius is feeling terribly awkward alone in the kitchen with our ranting mother…"

Lily's lips parted at that thought. "Oh poor Scorpius," she said, pushing herself up and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "I think we shall go back downstairs." She looked at her brother and bit her bottom lip. "Maybe I should apologise to Mum because I was late…"

James stood up and offered her a hand to help her to her feet. "Let's go," he said gently, "I'm sure Mum is already fretting about you not liking the soup…"

Lily leaned her head against James' shoulder as he guided her out of the room and towards the stairs. Yes, her mother thought that she was still a child, but she loved Lily and that was all that mattered.

oooOOOooo

The potatoes could have done with another five minutes in the pot and the bacon was slightly too salty, but Lily just said that it was perfect, probably the best soup she had ever had.

James had brought her back into the kitchen and she had run to their mother and kissed her and told her that she was sorry. And their mother had told her that she was sorry too, that she knew that she was with Scorpius, but that she worried, and that somehow she couldn't stop worrying for her. She was her baby, and even though Lily had taken a deep breath at that word, she hadn't stopped hugging her.

James had looked at the scene from next to where Scorpius was standing. "Women," he had whispered to the blond young man as he shook his head. And Scorpius had nodded in agreement.

Then, finally, Albus and his father had arrived as well. Albus had troubled everybody with his comments about the soup – "The potatoes are a bit raw, I think we should give clothes to Taffy… she is losing a bit her touch…" he had chuckled, and his mother had started to sob again while Lily's eyes had filled with tears at the very thought of freeing Taffy.

Luckily, Scorpius had stomped on his foot under the chair while James had glared at him from across the table. Albus had looked quite upset to have made the two women cry, though, and had repeated at least ten times that he didn't know that Mum had cooked the soup and he was definitely joking about Taffy…

"Please," he begged, "Mum the soup is amazing, I promise… and Taffy, I would cry my heart content if we were to send her away… I swear…" He swallowed a big spoonful of soup and smiled at them. "Please… I can't take another woman crying today…"

"Who did you make cry, Albus?" asked their mother, drying her eyes and looking severely at him.

"Nobody!" he protested, raising his hands near his face. "But Rose… oh Merlin! Ever since Emeric dumped her, she just cries and cries and cries… and then sometimes she laughs a bit maniacally as well…" He glanced at his father and sighed. "Dad, you wouldn't pair her up with somebody else, would you, right?"

"Shame on you, Al," scolded James, "she's our cousin and she needs a shoulder to cry on at the moment. That's how you treat her?"

Albus glared at him. "Well, James, you should be paired up with her, then," he replied dryly, "I'm sure you'll be happy to offer her that shoulder."

James' eyes widened slightly and Albus smirked at him. Nope, James was quite happy to be paired up with Scorpius, honestly… He didn't talk too much, he made a good partner, he was serious, he listened to him…

"If it's okay with James," said their father, cleaning his mouth in his napkin. "And you and Scorpius can work together."

Scorpius seemed to look like he wanted to restrain a small whine of disappointment at the news, but he smiled as best as he could at his boss and then glanced at Albus. "Looking forward to it," he muttered.

Albus glanced back at him, maybe considering if he wasn't about to jump out of the frying pan and right into the fire, but in the end he just looked at their father and nodded. "Fine by me," he replied, shrugging a shoulder.

James sighed. He wasn't looking forward to it, but it wouldn't have been too nice of him to complain, not after he had just lectured Albus on family ties, at least. And Rose wasn't that bad, after all… of course, she was a know-it-all, and slightly condescending at times, but she was good and she was fun to be around… when she wasn't crying…

"Dad," said Lily sweetly, "Miss Mitzy asked me something this morning…"

"What?" asked their mother, stopping as she was standing up. "Is everything alright?"

Lily looked at her and smiled a little. "Yes, Mum," she replied patiently, "she just wanted to know if we could bring the children to the Ministry on an outing… You know, they have one every year, last year they came to Hogwarts…"

Dad smiled one of his smiles that he saved for Lily. "I have to ask Kingsley," he replied, "but I can't see why not, Lily."

Lily beamed at him. "Thank you, Dad," she replied, hugging his arm and stretching her neck to kiss his cheek.

Their father grinned at her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Did you have a nice day, Lily?"

Lily nodded enthusiastically and threw herself in a detailed description of what she had done with the horde of toddlers that she had to look after. Sometimes her incredibly powerful memory was a perk, some other times instead…

"Happy now?" hissed Scorpius to Albus as Lily continued talking.

"Well, I didn't know we would have ended up together," he hissed back, before grinning. "But you can stop the charade… I know you love me, Scorpius…"

"Wrong Potter."

"Oh is it James that you love?"

Scorpius glared at Albus, but before he could retort their mother asked, "Are you staying the night, Scorpius?" She always asked that question with a hint of fear and hope in her voice that he wouldn't. Not that Scorpius and Lily did anything but cuddling and sleeping, but naturally the fact that a young man would share her daughter's bed made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. Not to mention the fact that their mother wanted to sleep with Lily as well, just like she used to do every night during the first years after Lily had been found.

Scorpius tried to give a hint of an awkward smile. "Only if Lily wants me to," he replied evenly.

"Of course I want to," replied Lily, interrupting her discourse with their father, "why wouldn't I want to?"

"It was just—"

"Maybe because it's not nice that you have a boy sleeping in your bed before you are married," replied their mother dryly. "I told you so many times already…"

Lily pressed her lips together in a thin line as she stood up from the table. "Can I be excused?" she asked icily. "I'm very tired." She didn't wait for her parents' reply as she walked away and up the stairs for the second time that evening.

And for the second time, silence enveloped the kitchen of Grimmauld Place and its occupants.

"Smooth, Mum," muttered Albus as Lily's door slammed shut.

Instead of replying, though, their mother just collapsed on her chair and started sobbing out loud.

oooOOOooo

Scorpius knocked on Lily's door.

"Go away," she whimpered from the other side.

He didn't. Instead he pushed the door open and walked inside, closing it gently at his back. "I thought you wanted me to stay," he replied with a smile as he sat on the bed next to her.

Lily turned to face him and sneaked a hand around his wrist, pulling him down on the bed. He let her guide him to her and wrapped his arms around her warm body. He stretched his neck to kiss her forehead and she leaned her head on his chest, right where his heart was beating.

"I'm not a little girl," she said seriously.

Scorpius sighed. "Nobody thinks you are," he replied gently.

"Liar," she told him tersely. "My mother thinks I'm still nine…"

"She just worries for you…"

"She thinks I'm a child," insisted Lily, "I'm not. I'm twenty-two and—"

"Twenty-one," he felt the urge to correct her.

She ignored him. "—and I can't even do what all of my cousins do. She never lets me go out alone, she never even lets me come back from work by myself…"

"Hey! I like to come to pick you," murmured Scorpius sweetly.

"I feel like she'll never consider me an adult…"

Scorpius kissed her forehead again. "All mothers are like that," he told her, "and you are her little princess…"

"She doesn't behave like that with Al and James," she pointed out sourly.

Scorpius smiled. "Because she doesn't like them as much as she likes you," he whispered, "mum's the word, though, it's a secret."

Lily slapped his arm playfully. "Scorpius!" she grinned, looking up at him.

He grinned back before lowering his head to kiss her. She kissed him back, her shiny, red hair tickling his cheek. He swiped the inside of her mouth with his tongue and she moaned against him, pressing her delectable body against his chest.

He had to shift a little on the bed to hide the effect that her closeness was having on his body. He was like a teenager at times, but surely it was because he had never had sex before. And because he had the most beautiful girlfriend on earth pressed against him every night.

She withdrew slightly and grinned at him. "Are you happy about your new Auror partner?" she asked him amusedly.

He grinned back. "Little minx," he replied. "Are you making fun of me?"

She giggled as he hugged her tightly.

"So? Shall I stay or shall I go?" he murmured as her laughter died out.

She kissed his neck. "I want you to stay, always," she breathed, tickling his throat, "but…"

"I know," he replied gently, "you don't want to upset your mother…"

She nodded. "Maybe I'll ask her to sleep with me… just to make her happy…" She kissed him again. "I'm going to miss you, though."

"Same," he replied. "But we can stay here a bit more, you know… I mean, unless you want to join your brothers in a game of Wizard's Chess…"

She shook her head and grinned again. "I want to snog you," she told him.

He smiled dumbly at her. "Sounds good to me…" he let her know as she pressed her lips to his.

Scorpius closed his eyes and sighed, and thought that life couldn't get much better than that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to my three reviewers! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter and are all excited for this fic! I'm honestly excited too. Just a heads up, Tilden Toots and his wife are actual characters from the Harry Potter world, you can Google them if you want to know more. Hope you'll like this chapter! Let me know if you do! Or if you have any constructive criticism for me... Ta ta.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Merlin, but life sucked!

Scorpius was sure that he was not the only one to think that, that not-so-bright morning. Surely his new Auror partner believed the same exact thing.

It was not the first time that Scorpius and Albus worked together on a case, honestly, they had probably worked together most of the time they had spent as Aurors – which was now almost four years – but still, every time they were paired up, they ended up hexing each other after hours of banter that had turned to quarrels that had turned to actual fights.

Naturally, everybody in the Auror department mocked them as they told them that they were in love, and that it was just unresolved sexual tension which caused them to behave like that and that Lily and Mary (or Janet, Hannah, Lidia, Lucy, Lana, or whoever Albus was dating at that moment), should have been jealous. At least, though, those were the only moments in which they teamed up to hex someone else.

And that morning was no different, since ten minutes after that Albus had walked into Scorpius' office they were already quarrelling.

"I was working on the unicorn case in Scotland, Al," growled Scorpius, "of course it's ten times more compelling than—what are you working on again?"

Albus snorted annoyed. "The Tilden Toots case," he replied haughtily, as if _that_ was interesting.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Yes, and does this look like the Janus Thickey Ward at St Mungo's to you?"

"He was killed, Scorpius," he replied impatiently. "His wife said—"

"He drank an infuse from a poisonous plant that he prepared himself," sighed Scorpius, "and his wife gave up magic for a year to live as a Muggle and write a book about it! I mean, honestly, whatever she says I don't think she's very reliable…"

Albus rolled his eyes. "He was a Herbologist and a Potioneer, I hardly think he could have been as stupid as to drink a poisonous infuse without noticing," he replied, "and his wife said that he was working on something secret that he wouldn't share even with her…"

"St Mungo's said it was an accident, Al," pointed out Scorpius.

Those were the facts: radio personality Tilden Toots had been found dead in his house the week before. The Aurors and the Healers had worked together to learn the cause of death. It turned out to be poisoning. They came to the conclusion that it must have been a mistake from Tilden's part, a distraction during the preparation of his favourite infuse. Naturally, his wife had cried that it had been murder, but there were no trails to follow and a quiet Herbologist such as Toots had no enemies at all.

"And Rose and I think it was murder," replied Albus dryly. He paused for a moment and then a grin split his face into two. "And in addition to that, Rose and James are already working on the unicorn case…"

Scorpius gaped at him. Of course, James surely would take no nonsense. Between a possible unicorn trade case and the death of a half-crazy Herbologist who had surely eaten too many magical mushrooms in his life, he would have definitely taken the unicorn case.

"Look at the bright side," said Albus, leaning back against the wall of Scorpius' office, "he is working with Rose, she is a girl, she is going to be perfect to attract the unicorns."

Scorpius darkened and snorted. "I hardly think she is still a virgin," he huffed.

"Hey!" snapped Albus protectively.

"Oh come on," snorted Scorpius, "she's been with Zabini for four years, I'm sure she has already done the nasty…"

Albus cocked an eyebrow and looked at him as if to say, _Look who's talking_, but thankfully he didn't actually utter a word. Damn was the day that Scorpius had confessed to him that he had never slept with Lily, or with anybody at all for that matter. Well, he had been drunk and Albus had been too, and his girlfriend's brother had hugged him and told him what a good man he was and that he loved him and that he was happy that he was his sister's boyfriend, and then he had started to cry. Scorpius, instead, had rushed to the loo to throw up, and afterwards Albus had joined him, and they had taken turns to keep each other's hair away from their faces.

For a moment, they had looked like a perfect homosexual couple.

They had agreed the following day not to tell a soul about that episode.

"So the Tilden Toots case is it?" asked Albus after a long moment of silence.

Scorpius crossed his arms over his chest. "Only if we rename it the 'Crazy Herbologist case'," he replied sulkily.

"Deal," grinned Albus, stretching a hand towards him.

Scorpius sighed as he shook it. "Deal," he replied. "It's not going to be a long investigation anyway… we are going to prove that that old man was completely out of his mind and took the wrong ingredients for his infuse and then we can maybe join James and Rose with their case…"

"Or we are going to discover that it was a murder and that his wife is not as crazy as you think…"

Scorpius rolled his eyes in reply. "Okay, now fill me in briefly to the point you've reached in the investigations, because I have a lunch date."

Albus brought a hand to his heart and pretended to look outraged. "What? You are not having lunch with your partner?"

"No, I'm going home for lunch, today," he replied curtly.

Albus cocked an eyebrow. "What? Grimmauld Place? Why? Is Lily home?"

"The Manor," Scorpius corrected him, "I don't live at Grimmauld Place…"

"You don't? I was wondering why you weren't there last night…" Albus grinned.

Scorpius swallowed and finally asked, "How did it go with your mother? Did she calm down?"

Albus shrugged a shoulder. "She slept with Lily," he replied. "My mum's a bit… nervous ever since Lily had graduated from Hogwarts and started working."

"Your mother thinks Lily is still a little girl," pointed out Scorpius. "And Lily knows it and she suffers, you know… She would like to be treated like the young woman she is, not like—"

"My mum is just trying to protect her," Albus cut him off, "even if that's probably not the right way to do it."

"It's definitely not the right way to do it," murmured Scorpius.

Albus nodded and sighed. "Try to tell her without making her cry," he replied.

Scorpius shook his head. "Never mind," he muttered, "just fill me in with the details of the case."

Albus grinned as he sat down on Scorpius' desk and started to tell him what exactly he and his former partner had done so far about the Toots case.

oooOOOooo

"… and he said that I am too frigid," sobbed Rose, "too frigid! He said that for being a redhead I should be much wilder, especially in bed…"

James looked at Rose with his mouth open. His cousin hadn't stopped crying since the moment she had walked into his office that morning. They hadn't talked once about the case of the unicorn trade, but he now knew everything about Emeric and what that man thought about his cousin. Not that he did want to hear that, really… Hearing what Auror Zabini thought and said to her about her skills in bed made him alternatively angry and rather uncomfortable.

"Rose, I'm sure he—"

"He said he didn't know why he pursued me for seven years at Hogwarts!" she sobbed. "He said that whoever married me would have had to sleep in another bed because he would freeze to death if he slept with me…"

"Rose, I'm sure—"

"And to think that I didn't want him back at Hogwarts," she sniffled, "I knew that he liked me, but I didn't want to be with him… and he followed me around like a puppy… and I always treated him so coldly… and now…"

"You know what makes me feel better when—"

"And Al and Hugo always said that I was blind, but I wasn't… I swear I wasn't… I just… I told my mother about him once and she said that his mother was Dad's girlfriend back at school and it was weird…"

"It must have been," agreed James with a sigh, "listen, why don't we focus on—"

"And I was scared, you know," she continued, sobbing again, "I was scared to love someone ever since Lily was taken, you know… she was my favourite cousin, my best friend and… she just disappeared and…"

"Well, thank you," muttered James. He knew he couldn't have stood any chances at being Rose's favourite cousin when they had been little. She was always reading to Lily and braiding her hair and talking about princesses and fairy-tales back in the days, and him and Albus and Hugo and Fred and Louis were always fighting off dragons and running and getting dirty in the garden… Now he wouldn't have minded being Rose's favourite cousin, though. She was the closest in age to him and she was fun – when she wasn't crying her heart content about a boy who had just dumped her.

"And now I miss him," she sobbed, "and Stephanie said that she saw him at the Leaky Cauldron with Margaret the other day… he has already found someone else and I will never find anybody at all…"

"Rose, every boy would be lucky to—"

"I'll end up like Aunt Muriel," she howled, blowing her nose in a handkerchief.

James wondered if she would have noticed if he walked out of the office – his office – and went to an early lunch, or to see how his ex-partner was doing with Albus. Why hadn't he kept his mouth shut the night before? Instead of going all big brother on Albus he should have told him that he didn't envy him at all… At least, he had convinced her to quit investigating on the stupid death of the Herbologist…

"Listen," he sighed patiently, kneeling in front of her, "how about you forget about him—no, no, wait, let me talk." He pressed a finger on her parting lips, pushing against her teeth for emphasis. "How about you forget about your ex-boyfriend, who certainly doesn't deserve you, and focus on the unicorn case for the day and then this weekend I – your new favourite cousin – will take you to a very glamorous party? Best party of the year, I swear."

She darkened and brushed away the tears from her auburn eyelashes. "I don't need your pity," she grunted. "I know I'm pathetic and—"

"I'm not pitying you, Rose," he cut her off somewhat a bit too brusquely. _I just can't take your wailing any longer._ "I just thought that we haven't had a good nice chat in ages, you know… you were always with Emeric and I think we have a lot of catching up to do…" He grinned as she smiled gratefully at him. "And it's a bloody awesome party, I swear! There's going to be food and music and dancing and—"

She frowned slightly. "It's Roxanne's housewarming party," she pointed out.

"And don't you think it's going to be dashing? Wait, pay attention to what you say, I'm going to tell Roxy…"

She took a deep breath and finally nodded. "Okay," she replied, before smiling, "thank you."

He kissed her forehead and nodded back, finally standing up from the floor. "Okay, let me fill you in about the unicorn case, then. Scorpius and I were investigating on the killings in the Forbidden Forest. Three killings in total, the blood and the horns were taken in all three cases."

"For some Dark Magic ritual or potion," she replied promptly.

He smiled and nodded at her. "Very well," he told her, trying not to sound too patronising. "Now, to be quite honest I'm happy you are working with me, unicorns do prefer a woman's touch and if we need to get close to some alive ones, you might come handy."

She nodded. "Even though, well… I'm not a pure virginal lassie anymore," she told him, her cheeks flushing slightly.

James nodded as he sighed. "Even though you are not a virgin anymore."

oooOOOooo

Astoria had supervised the setting of the table personally. It was not every day that Scorpius came home for a meal, not since Lily had finished Hogwarts at least. He still lived at the Manor – well, that was where his post was delivered, and where most of his clothes still were washed – but he spent most of his time at Grimmauld Place.

He had all his dinners there, he slept there most nights and he spent his free time there. Of course, Lily came to the Manor every now and then, but between her overbearing mother and Scorpius' unwillingness to let her spend too much time in Draco's company, it was almost always Scorpius the one to go and visit her and not vice versa.

But Astoria loved Lily. And in Draco's defence, her husband did too. Well, it was quite hard to know her story and not to love her – or at least take pity on her, which was probably what Draco felt. And every time she came to the Manor she was the most polite and cheerful of their guests and she always seemed to be so interested in everything she saw, whether it was Astoria's collection of enchanted tea cups, or Draco's latest passion for breeding Crups – of course, those Crups were adorable, even though Astoria suspected that he had starting taking an interest in them because they were particularly ferocious towards Muggles. Nonetheless, they were extremely loyal creatures and Lily loved them to bits. Draco had even given her one pup and let her name him. Sparky she called him, and despite she only rarely saw him, the Crup seemed to consider Lily his owner.

But Scorpius was ashamed of the fact that his father had been a close friend to Theodore Nott and Gregory Goyle back in the days – and even during the years of Lily's captivity – and even though both Lily and her family had assured him that they knew that Draco was not _that_ kind of person – _anymore_ at least – he still didn't want Lily to get too close to him, feeling probably ashamed of the fact that Draco had been the one to purchase Lily for him the first time he had been to the brothel.

And Draco could sense his son's reluctance to let him get too close to his girlfriend, and Astoria knew that he suffered for that, because somehow, Azkaban had changed his husband. Where he once was a hard man, he was now much more family-driven and seemed to want more than anything to spend time with his wife and his son in the quiet of the Manor.

Furthermore, in the past few years, things had slowly evolved between Draco and Astoria, and now they started to sit together on the couch after dinner and maybe hold each other near the fire from time to time. Just like they used to do when Scorpius was still a baby or when they were still engaged. And Astoria felt her heart flutter in her chest during those moments.

"Do we have guests?" asked Draco as he walked into the dining room with the Daily Prophet tucked under his arm.

Astoria took a deep breath and turned to look at him. "Scorpius is having lunch with us," she replied evenly. "He will be here any minute now."

Draco sat at his place at the head of the table and looked at her. Despite his face being void of emotions, his eyes seemed two stormy grey seas. "Is he?" he asked softly.

She nodded. "He asked me to find my engagement ring," she told him quietly. "The one you gave me when you asked me to marry you."

Draco's lips parted slightly in surprise at the news, but he closed them rather quickly. "Yes, that would be your engagement ring," he told her in a murmur.

Astoria swallowed. "He wants to ask Lily to marry him," she blurted out. She was quite sure that it was not her place to tell him, Scorpius wouldn't have been so secretive about it, if she could have told her husband freely – but he was his father, he had the right to know.

"I imagine that's why he would want it," whispered Draco tonelessly. Was he too shocked or not shocked enough? Astoria couldn't say.

"Don't… don't you want to say anything?" she asked him apprehensively.

Draco looked at her. "I think she is a suitable choice," he replied gently.

Astoria gave the hint of a smile, but before she could agree with her husband, the fireplace became alive with green flames and Scorpius, in his Auror uniform which made him look extremely handsome in his mother's eye, stepped out of the hearth and shook the Floo Powder from his hair.

"Sorry, I'm late, Mother, I…" Scorpius' voice died in his throat as he spotted his father. "Father," he said rather coolly.

"Scorpius," he replied quietly, nodding at him. "It's good to see you at home."

"I slept here last night," he told him rather curtly.

Draco nodded. "I know, the house-elves informed me."

Scorpius looked at his mother and bit his bottom lip. "Can I talk to you in private?"

Astoria gave him a worried smile. "I told your father about the ring, Scorpius," she confessed, "I—"

"Mother!" he protested, darkening suddenly.

"He's your father, Scorpius," she scolded.

"Can I offer you my congratulations?" asked Draco, standing up.

Scorpius darkened even more. "I need to ask her parents first," he replied, without looking at him. "And that's weird, you want to congratulate me for marrying the girl you didn't want me to fall in love with in the first place."

"Scorpius!" exclaimed Astoria.

"That was when we thought she was a prostitute," replied Draco, his voice calm but distant.

"She _was_ a prostitute."

"Scorpius!" screeched Astoria for the second time. "Let's not talk about that." She grasped her son's wrist and guided him towards the table. Draco sat down again on the other side. Astoria gestured for Scorpius to sit as well and pushed the little velvety box towards him. "Here," she said soothingly, "I ordered the house-elves to polish it."

Scorpius stared at the box for a long moment before he finally found the courage to open it. He took a deep breath and looked the at the ring.

It was beautiful. Every girl would have swooned if presented with such a token of love. It was of fine gold, with a round-shaped emerald surrounded by little diamonds and a barely visible 'M' engraved on the inside.

It was a ring worth of a queen. And Astoria had definitely felt like a queen when Draco had asked her to marry him.

Scorpius closed the box again. "Thank you," he said nervously.

Astoria wrapped her fingers around his son's hand. "She would say yes to you even without the ring, Scorpius," she assured him.

He shook his head and sighed. "It's not Lily who I'm worried about," he replied dejectedly.

Astoria smiled sympathetically at him. "I'm sure her parents could not hope in anybody better than you for their daughter," she told him gently.

Scorpius took a deep breath. "I don't think her mother would want anybody at all to marry her daughter," he murmured, "I think she just wants her to stay at home with her all her life."

Astoria smiled sadly at the pieces of news which were not news at all. She could only imagine what Ginny Potter had gone through in the almost seven years that her daughter had spent away from her. She could understand all too well that she would have been reticent to see her daughter depart from her house to become the wife of someone. But Scorpius surely deserved to fulfil his dream and marry her, if it hadn't been for him, Lily would still be kept segregated in the brothel.

Astoria patted Scorpius' forearm. "I'm sure she'll understand," she murmured back, "let's have lunch, shall we?" She clapped her hands and two house-elves appeared at the door, big serving plates on their heads.

Lunch went on in an uncomfortable silence, despite Astoria's attempts to start various topics of conversation and Draco's effort to enquire about Scorpius' life. But their son's head was some other place, surely rehearsing the conversation he would have had with Lily's parents over and over again.

oooOOOooo

Miss Mitzy was old. And she most definitely wasn't the most beautiful woman to have ever walked the earth. She had a crown of dyed brown curls on her small head and always too much makeup that was all smeared at the corners of her eyes and of her mouth. She had a reticulate of wrinkles on her smiling face and she always wore pastel colour robes and had a cane that she never really used.

She was also the sweetest lady Harry had ever met in all his life. Ginny would confirm that, and so would all of her brothers who had attended her school at some point before Hogwarts. And Lily would remind him every day, when she came home, what a lovely lady she was.

Well, she had to be lovely to let Lily work in such an environment despite her past. Some of the parents – he knew – had opposed Miss Mitzy's choice to hire an ex-prostitute to work with their children. But now, even though some of the mothers and fathers from the other classes were still reluctant to have her at the school – not that Lily was aware of that –, the parents of the students she looked after were all happy to have her as their children's teacher.

Harry was proud of his daughter, and that was all that mattered to him.

"Mister Potter," said Miss Mitzy as she walked into her office with her cane in her hand. "I'm glad to see you here."

Harry stood up to help her walk to her desk and she offered him a grateful smile in return. "Miss Mitzy," he greeted her, "you look younger every day that passes."

She smiled again as she sat down. "Oh, Mister Potter," she grinned, "I thought that Aurors didn't lie."

"That's true, and I never lie, Miss Mitzy," he assured her.

"Well, aren't you a charmer?" she grinned, gloating slightly. "I'm glad to see you here, I have, in fact, something to ask you."

Harry smiled as he sat opposite to her. "I might know what you are referring to, Miss Mitzy, and in fact that's exactly why I'm here," he replied. "Lily told me that you'd like to take your students to an outing to the Ministry."

Miss Mitzy smiled warmly back at him. "Oh, Lily is such a dedicated young lady," she replied, "I'm glad she has already told you about it." She wetted her dry lips a little and smiled again. "Would that be possible?" she asked.

Harry smiled back at her. "Well, you and my daughter overestimate my power at the Ministry," he replied calmly, "it's our Minister the one that you have to ask permission to." He smiled again as he took out a pile of papers from his cloak. "Luckily, I had a meeting with him and the Heads of the other Departments this morning and I managed to mention the matter."

"Did you?" she asked delighted. "Thank you, Mister Potter."

"My pleasure, Miss Mitzy," he replied, "Minister Shacklebolt was absolutely enthusiastic about it. He told me to let you know that all you have to do is Floo Call his office to arrange a date and get the parents to sign a consent form." He pushed the pile of papers in front of her and smiled again. "He is looking forward to seeing you there."

Miss Mitzy looked incredibly pleased at the news. "That's marvellous," she replied, "I will try to organise the outing for next week then. Is February a busy month for the Ministry?"

"Every month is busy," replied Harry truthfully, "but you don't worry about it, Miss Mitzy, we will find the time for your students."

"Thank you, Mister Potter," she replied. "You are always such a great help to the school."

"I'm glad I can help," he replied, before leaning back against the chair. "How's Lily doing?" he finally asked. He knew she was doing well, but somehow he just liked to hear Miss Mitzy praise her.

She smiled at him. "Oh, she's an angel," she replied, "so patient, and loving, and the children… Yes, and the children love her back. And the parents as well, they adore her, all of them…"

"All?" asked Harry quietly.

Miss Mitzy's smile became slightly awkward. "Well, you don't mind some old hags, Mister Potter," she said sweetly, "she is a valid member of our staff and I'd rather see some parents remove their children and continue their education at home than have to fire her."

Harry took a deep breath. He hoped it didn't came to that. He hoped those parents who were still unwilling to accept that his daughter was a perfectly normal young lady would come to know her at some point and recognise what a wonderful person she was.

"I'm sure you'd like to see your daughter now, Mister Potter," asked Miss Mitzy as she pushed her wrinkly hands on the desk and stood up.

Harry stood up as well to help her to her feet. "I'd like that very much, Miss Mitzy, but you don't have to worry, I know the way," he replied.

The woman grabbed her cane and linked her arm to Harry's. "Oh, I don't worry," she told him, "I have to tell my dear girls that we are going to have a meeting after school finish today. To decide whose classes will go to the Ministry and when exactly that will be." As Harry pushed the door of Miss Mitzy's office open, she added, "You might want to tell that to Scorpius, Mister Potter. To come to pick Lily up a bit later."

"I will," he told her.

"He is such a good boy," said Miss Mitzy, "always coming to pick her up and helping her tidy up the classroom. Such a good boy."

Harry took a deep breath. "He is," he agreed. Yes, sometimes – when Harry was distracted – it still felt incredibly weird to refer to Draco Malfoy's son as a 'good boy' or to remind himself that he came to Grimmauld Place for dinner every single night. Or that fairly often he spent the night with his daughter. But Scorpius was a _good boy_, nobody could have denied that.

Miss Mitzy pushed the Ladybird Room door ajar and Harry's ears filled with screams and laughter. He peeked inside and couldn't help smiling at the scene. Lily had Transfigured a pair of white rabbit ears on her head and had whiskers sprouting from below her nose, and, from what he caught of what she was saying, he imagined that she was telling the children the tale of _Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump_.

"…and so, the crowd decides to cut down the tree because they think that an evil witch lives there, but we all know that Babbitty turned herself into a…"

"Rabbit!" replied a chorus of little voices.

Lily giggled. "Exactly! But after they cut the tree there's a voice coming from the stump, and it says that witches can't be cut in half! That they should cut the Muggle in half to prove it. The Muggle then confesses that he was lying and Babbitty says that the King is cursed and that every time a witch or a wizard will be harmed in his kingdom he will feel an axe stroke. So the King makes a proclamation that says that witches and wizards are not to be harmed and makes a…"

"A statue," said a child.

"A gold statue," said another one.

"Yes," grinned Lily, "a gold statue of Babbitty! And afterwards Babbitty appears in the form of a rabbit and with her wand in her mouth she hops away, leaving the kingdom forever." Lily started to hop for the classroom and the children just hopped behind her, laughing and bumping into the toys and each others.

"She's good," whispered Miss Mitzy as Harry stared at her and smiled.

"I don't know if I want to disturb her," he replied.

"Nonsense, Mister Potter," said the woman gingerly, "it's almost naptime anyway for the children, they have to get ready to sleep." She pushed the door wide open and Lily finally looked up at them.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, hopping towards him with the horde of children hopping right behind her. When she reached him, she stood up and hugged him. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes shining as if she hadn't seen him in ages and not just that morning at breakfast.

"I came to talk to Miss Mitzy about the outing at the Ministry that you told me about, Lily," he replied, giving her a one arm hug.

"Yes, Lily, dear," said the woman, "would you mind staying a bit after classes for a quick meeting to decide what to do about the outing?"

"Oh," she replied, "I'd be happy to, Miss Mitzy." She looked at Harry and smiled softly. "Maybe I could come home alone tonight, Dad, so not to disturb Scorpius too late in the evening…"

Harry forced out a smile. He knew what she was trying to do, but Ginny would have had a heart attack if Lily was to come home by herself late in the evening. And Harry himself had to admit that he felt much better when she was with Scorpius or someone else.

"I'm sure Scorpius won't mind," he said coaxingly, "but if he is too tired I'll come myself. Or Albus or James. Or maybe even Rosie might come. Wouldn't you like that?"

Lily smiled softly at him and nodded. "Yes, Dad," she replied a bit dejectedly for having missed her chance to act all grown up.

He kissed the top of her head and her bunny ears twitched in appreciation. "Miss Mitzy said that it's almost naptime for your students, isn't it?" he asked her sweetly.

Lily nodded as she stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek, her whiskers tickling is nose. "I'll see you tonight," she told him.

"Yes my little, fluffy bunny," he replied, scratching her between her ears.

She smiled contently and finally turned to march her students towards the little beds on the other side of the room. The lights dimmed with a flicker of her wand and soon she was helping the yawning toddlers into the little beds.

"Let's go," whispered Miss Mitzy, "they'd found any excuse to wake up those little midgets…"

oooOOOooo

Albus could sense that something was not quite right with Scorpius. The blond man had been incredibly quiet ever since he had come back from the Manor. Not that he usually wasn't quiet, but he hadn't replied once to Albus' banter nor had he commented when Albus had tripped over a flying root in Tilden Toots' garden. Usually he would sneer at his partner's inability to walk without falling. Instead he had stretched a hand towards him to help him up and that was it.

"What's wrong?" asked Albus as they stood in front of the Toots' residence door.

Scorpius shook his head. "Nothing," he replied quietly.

Albus looked at him without believing him. "Yeah, right," he said, "is it because my father told you that Lily has to stay at work overtime tonight? Are you going to miss her?" He grinned and puckered his lips in a kiss-like gesture, but all Scorpius did was to glare at him before the door opened and a rather dishevelled-looking old woman looked wildly at them.

"Mrs Toots?" asked Albus, eyeing the woman warily. She had her wand in her hand and seemed rather distressed to find two foreigners at her door.

"Maybe," she replied, her wide eyes going from Albus to Scorpius.

"Auror Malfoy and Auror Potter," said Scorpius firmly, "we would like to ask you a few questions about your husband's death."

She narrowed her eyes behind her lunettes and pressed her lips together. "How do I know you are Aurors?"

Albus furrowed his brow as he pointed at his chest. "We have the uniform," he pointed out.

"As if they didn't give those out to everybody," she hissed.

"They don't," assured Scorpius, "but you can Floo Call the Ministry while we wait here to ask for confirmation of our identities."

She darkened slightly, but seemed to find that suggestion superfluous after all, because she moved from the door and nodded for them to come in. "I've already talked to the Aurors," she told them as they walked inside, "and with the Healers. They sent me to St Mungo's for a check up on my conditions."

"We won't do any of that," assured Albus, as she guided them into her living room, "we just want to know what happened the day your husband died."

"You are going to think that I'm crazy, aren't you? Just like your colleagues," she accused them. "And all because I wrote that book and lived like a Muggle for a year! And people think I'm crazy!"

Scorpius looked at her as if to say that he was one of those people and that he did believe that she was crazy. Nutty as a fruitcake, really.

Albus tried to glare at him, but Scorpius didn't notice. "We don't," Albus told her, fishing out a quill and a parchment from his pocket. "We are truly interested in what happened that day."

The woman lowered her eyes to her hands and took a deep breath. "My husband was a good man," she told them, "a respectable man. He was famous, you know, he had his own program on the WWN. People liked him."

"So what you're saying is that he didn't have any enemies," pointed out Scorpius as Albus scribbled down her words. "That it's unlikely that someone killed him."

She twisted her wand in her hands. "I'm saying that he was a good man," she replied forcefully, "whatever he did he only did it in the name of those plants that he loved so much."

"What did he do?" asked Albus, looking up at her. He knew that man had a shady secret, he could feel that.

"I don't know," she replied, "but he did something."

Albus' lips parted slightly as he willed himself to avoid looking at Scorpius. Surely his partner was gloating.

"So, your husband did something, but you don't know what it was," said Scorpius slowly. "How do you know he did something then?"

She tossed her reddish curls behind her shoulder. "He was nervous," she told them, "lately he was very nervous… and usually he was never nervous. He was a gardener for crying out loud!"

"Exactly," muttered Scorpius, glancing at Albus.

Albus rolled his eyes. There was something about that case… he just knew that there was something about that case that didn't convince him… "Did your husband find something? Did he meet someone new different your usual circle of friends?"

She shook her head slightly. "He met new people every day," she pointed out, nodding towards the window, "he sold flowers and gave gardening lessons in our garden. There were always new people coming to meet him… he was a celebrity, you know."

Albus nodded. "And none of those people looked suspicious to you?"

She shook her head. "They were interested in flowers, how suspicious could someone interested in a plant be?" she asked.

"Not very," replied Scorpius emphatically.

"Exactly!" she told him. "The week before he died, there was an old lady who came to talk about roses, just talk, she would do that every Monday, they would sit and have tea and talk about roses, and that's all."

"And the other people who came? Did anybody new come? Did someone come more than once?" asked Scorpius, looking intently at her.

"Lots of people," she replied, "there was a young lad who came to ask what flowers to gift his girlfriend for her birthday… then this couple who came to enquire about poisonous ivy… then a middle-aged, handsome man who bought a Dirigible Plum… then—"

"Great, thank you, Mrs Toots," Albus cut her off, "you said that your husband looked rather nervous lately…"

"Very nervous," Mrs Toots replied forcefully.

"Very nervous," repeated Albus, "but you don't know why?"

She shook her head. "No," she replied, "I… he was always shaking, always and he never shook… and… and—ah! Yes! A book is missing from his study!"

Albus finally glanced at Scorpius, his lips curved in a gloating smile. "A book? Please, Mrs Toots, continue."

"What book?" asked Scorpius rather grumpily. Yes, Albus knew that there was something there, he just knew it. He could feel it.

"I don't know," replied the woman.

Albus had to do his best not to roll his eyes. "How do you know that it's missing then?" he asked a bit too curtly. He was still sure that there was something not quite alright about the death of that man, but this woman here wasn't helping one bit.

"Come with me," she told them, standing up, "I'll show you."

They stood as well, following her out of the living room and down the hall. For being two best-selling authors, they lived in a remarkably small house. She pushed a door open and, with a wave of her wand, she turned on the light.

The room was small and the heat suffocating in there. There were plants everywhere and it looked more like a greenhouse rather than a study, if one had to be honest.

"Stay away from the Fanged Geranium," she said distractedly, "this one is vicious."

Scorpius walked closer to Albus. "Which one is the Fanged Geranium?" he whispered.

Albus shrugged a shoulder. "The one that bites?" he asked back, looking around himself at the weird plants that seemed to be moving and slither about now that the light had been turned on.

"Here," sentenced the woman as they approached a desk almost completely covered in vases. "See?" She pointed to a space on the desk. There most definitely was the shape of an open book that had been imprinted in the dust and spores covering the table, as if the volume had been lying there for ages.

"What book was it?" asked Albus, as he stepped out of reach from the wayward tentacles of a Devil Snare.

"I don't know," replied the woman. "I never came in here, those plants give me the heebie-jeebies."

Scorpius closed his eyes and seemed to curse under his breath. "How do you know it's missing then?" he asked.

"I… well, I'm not sure, but I know…" she replied quietly. "I just know. I feel it."

Scorpius nodded. "You feel it," he repeated, before looking at Albus meaningfully and back at Mrs Toots. "Thank you Mrs Toots," he told her. "We will let you know how our investigations proceed."

She nodded, evidently not noticing that from Scorpius' tone of voice that there were not going to be any further investigations. Well, that was what Scorpius thought, of course they were going to investigate. Albus still didn't feel quite alright about the whole situation.

They followed the woman through the house and back into the garden. "My husband was a good man," she told them once again, "he did something…"

"But you don't know what," finished Scorpius with a sigh as they finally stepped outside.

"Exactly!" she said again. "You need to find out what he did."

"We will, Mrs Toots," replied Albus, smiling warmly at her. "We will contact you again if we need your help."

She nodded. "Yes, yes," she agreed. "I am always here."

Albus smiled again. "Thank you, Mrs Toots," he said. "Have a lovely day."

Scorpius nodded seriously at her and she wished them a very lovely day indeed, before she looked around herself and walked hastily back inside.

Scorpius looked at Albus and opened his mouth to surely tell him something about the case, but Albus beat him to it. "We need to go to St Mungo's," he said quickly.

Scorpius' jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" he exclaimed as he stopped and started brushing his feet on the grass. "Are you completely out of your mind? Were you sitting there with me having that surreal conversation with that crazy old—_damn_!" He leaned against a tree and raised a shoe to look underneath it.

"What?" asked Albus, peering over the ridge of his shoe.

"Something… something sticky," he said, grabbing a little stick and trying to get rid of the dark, slimy substance on the sole of his shoe. It was a dark violet colour and smelled rather plumy.

"Must be those Dirigible Plums," pointed out Albus, nodding towards the tree. "You better take that off before you start floating away…"

Scorpius glared at him. "See where this sodding case of yours brought us, Albus?" he snapped. "To the house of a crazy widow with disgusting plants in her garden."

Albus grinned. "Well, good thing that it's going to bring us to St Mungo's next," he told him, "in fact, we better go quickly, before it closes the archives for the day and—what?"

Scorpius was brushing his shoe against the trunk of the tree and still he managed to glare at him. "You are just as crazy as that woman," he grunted. "This case is closed."

"No, it's not," protested Albus, "we still need to check Tilden Toots' medical report. We need to go now because—"

"I am not going anywhere, tonight," grunted Scorpius, "I have… something to do." He let out a frustrated sigh and put down his foot again, walking towards the entrance of the garden.

"I'd like to remind you that my sister is staying overtime at the school tonight," Albus told him.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I know," he muttered, "it's something else."

"Something like… what?"

"Something like something!" snapped Scorpius. "Bloody hell, Albus, stop being so nosy."

Albus crossed his arms. "Well, you are on duty until seven and we still have some time to go to St Mungo's and—"

"I am not going anywhere," growled Scorpius. "I need to do something." He finally looked at Albus and sighed. "If you cover for me tonight with Teddy, we'll go to St Mungo's tomorrow, how does that sound?"

Albus cocked an eyebrow. "What is it that you have to do?"

"It's personal," replied Scorpius. "So, do we have a deal?"

Albus rolled his eyes. "Alright," he told him, "but you better be a bit more open-minded tomorrow at the hospital. I'm sure that Tilden Toots had some kind of—"

"Yes, yes, marvellous," Scorpius cut him off distractedly. "I'll see you at Grimmauld Place." And with that, he Disapparated with a subtle 'pop', leaving Albus alone to contemplate the spot where his Auror partner had just vanished.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** Thank you to my reviewers! You make my day, guys. You honestly do. I've sent out some PM's to some of the wonderful people who were following _Scarlet_, but if you're here because of that, please do not - for the love of Merlin - read this just to do me a favour! If you don't like this story (it's very different from _Scarlet_), don't read it. I already love you, no need to butter me up.

Dear hashi, so glad to see you back! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! Ah, you don't have to worry on the Rose/James front. I changed the scenes, since I received mostly negative feedback on a possible romance between the two. Ah, Ginny... Poor Ginny, she is the one who suffered the most. I couldn't see her react to her daughter's growing up in any other way. But thank you for your review! I'm glad that so far you're liking the ff.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

The wind slapped mercilessly at Rose's face and she came to the conclusion that February was definitely not the nicest month to spend in Scotland. She had forgotten how cold the wind was, or how grey the sky, or how spooky the Forbidden Forest actually looked.

_Oh, for Merlin's sake, you're an Auror, Rose Weasley, get a grip on yourself_.

"Are you okay?"

She raised her eyes to look at James and tightened her cloak around herself. She gave him a little smile and nodded. "I think I forgot how merciless the weather is up here at this time of year," she told him.

He smiled at her as he wrapped an arm around her quivering shoulders and pulled her to him. "Oh Rose," he said, "here. Is it better?" She felt his body warmth seeping through the cloak and nodded slightly.

This was weird. Honestly, it was. She couldn't remember James ever being a patient and understanding person. No, he usually was a quick tempered young man who had very limited tolerance for crying ladies or anything that had to do with romance. In fact, all he usually talked about was Quidditch and Auror duties, and when someone was crying he tried to joke to lighten the mood; something that Rose was extremely grateful he hadn't done with her.

"Thank you," she murmured, as he rubbed his hand up and down her upper arm.

He looked at her and furrowed his brow. "For what?" he asked.

She shrugged a shoulder. "You know," she replied, "for accepting to work with me… I know Albus dumped me on you…"

"He didn't," replied James, sounding almost indignant. "I wanted to work with you. And… and Albus wanted to work with Scorpius…"

Rose snorted. "Yeah, right," she replied, "and I'm the Easter Bunny."

"Hmm, then I should tell you that I didn't receive my share of Easter Eggs last year," he told her, hugging her tightly. "Okay, are you ready to see the unicorns?"

Rose sighed. "Not looking forward to it, but yes," she replied. "I guess that's what we came here for."

He nodded. "Hagrid said they are there," he told her, pointing towards the trees. "They built a little enclosure to keep the students away. Not that they told them about the killings…"

They started walking towards the woods, James' arm still circling her shoulders in a comforting gesture.

"Where's Hagrid?" she asked him.

James shook his head. "Apparently he is _away_," he murmured, looking meaningfully at her.

"Right," replied Rose. "_Away_." Away usually meant that he was with his _little_ half-brother into the woods. Well, that was quite a pity, honestly, she had hoped to see him. It was always nice to chat with Hagrid, and when someone complained to him about relationship problems, he always had a hot cup of tea ready and some rock cake to offer as well as a lot of suggestions on how to mend a broken heart.

Rose shook her head. She was not there to chat though. Unicorns had been slain in the forest and they had to investigate. Of course, she would have liked to continue working on the Tilden Toots case, but that was Albus and Scorpius' case now and there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Right," said James as they neared the enclosure, "apparently, they aren't a nice view. Their horns have been severed and the blood harvested."

Rose nodded. Luckily dead unicorns did not send off any rotten smell, because she felt rather queasy already. What with all the crying she had done in the past few days, and with all the emotions for the break-up, and Emeric already going out with someone else… She wished she would have found someone else as well… She glanced at James, too bad that Emeric knew that he was her cousin, otherwise she could have asked him to help her make her ex-boyfriend jealous. But maybe James knew someone who wouldn't have minded an occasional snog whenever Emeric appeared on the horizon… Yes, she had to ask him that.

"Rose, I know what you are thinking," sighed James.

"Do you?" she asked, blushing suddenly. How the heck did he know?

He nodded. "Yes, you are thinking about Emeric," he replied, " but please, try to focus here, okay? I need you to concentrate, we're a team, aren't we?"

She blushed even more brightly. Yes, indeed they were a team, did she need her cousin to remind her that they were working there? Bloody hell! What did Emeric do to her? Yes, of course, he had moved out of their flat in a rush, and she had had her life turned upside down in a matter of days, but she was an Auror and the daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley. Blimey! Her parents had their pictures on a Chocolate Frog Card! She was just acting like a stupid teenager there! She had to collect herself.

"I'm focused," she told him in her most business-like voice. "Let's go."

The sight in front of them was quite horrible indeed. Three unicorns were lying on their sides, tongue blue and swollen coming out from between their two rows of teeth, dark eyes wide open, neck slashed by deep cuts and drops of silver blood tainting their immaculate fur. Their horns had been severed away with a charm and most of the blood had been collected as well.

Rose swallowed hard to keep her lunch down. Yes, the corpses weren't smelling, but the sight was still quite atrocious. Especially when one thought that those were such pure creatures.

She felt her eyes sting with tears once again. Surely she was not going to cry now, right? She couldn't. She needed to keep her cool.

"Rose," James called her. "Come here, look at this."

Did she really have to?

"Look at what?" she asked him, furrowing her brow.

"They cut off some fur as well," he told her, pointing to the mane.

She nodded as she stared at the poor animal.

"Fur, blood and horn," he listed, crouching near the corpse to have a better look, "do you think it's something to do with the Dark Market?"

"Well, fur and horn powder are used as potion ingredients and they are very expensive," she reminded him, "but the blood…"

James nodded. "I know, right? The blood would only be used to…"

"To keep someone who is dying alive," finished Rose with a shiver. She had heard stories of Voldemort and Professor Quirrell, and she was pretty sure she would have been sick if she had been the one to witness such a scene instead of Uncle Harry.

"Right," replied James, standing up. "So, blood, horn and hair. I think we'll need to take a little tour of Knockturn Alley to see if we can find anything like that in some dodgy shop. Something that arrived after last Monday."

Rose shivered again at the cold wind. "Yes," she replied, "tomorrow? I'm freezing here, all I want to do is go home and heat some of the soup my mum brought me last night."

James shook his head. "And you'd eat all alone in your lonely flat? No, no, you're coming to Grimmauld Place to have dinner with us," he told her.

She snorted. "Al would be thrilled, and Scorpius too…"

"Well, forget about them," he told her, "I know my parents can't wait to see you and Lily is probably going to squeal through the whole meal and talk girly stuff with you…"

Rose smiled at the thought. She hadn't seen Lily in almost a week. She missed her in fact. "Okay," she agreed. "Let's go to talk to McGonagall and then we better Floo back to the Ministry."

He nodded. "Let's go."

And as they walked up the steep hill that brought to the castle, Rose couldn't help thinking a bit more about his ex-boyfriend.

oooOOOooo

Ginny couldn't concentrate on her book. She just couldn't. Her eyes kept rising from the pages to look at the Grandfather Clock that her mother had gifted her ever since they had found Lily again. Her three children were at 'work', her husband was 'travelling' and she was 'home'.

Nobody was in 'mortal peril'.

There was a rustling coming from the fireplace and as the golden hand with Harry's face moved to 'home', he appeared into the chimney.

"Evening, my dear," he told her with a smile, "had a nice day?"

Ginny smiled back at him. "Yes, dear, you?"

"Pretty uneventful," he replied with a sigh that told her how much he missed a bit of action. "Yours?"

Ginny took a deep breath. "I went to the Prophet today." She lowered her eyes, unable to look into Harry's as she told him about her day, "I finally told them why I couldn't be their correspondent for the British Quidditch Tournament."

She could hear Harry sigh above her. "Ginny…"

"No," she cut him off, before he could scowl her like a child. "You don't even know, Harry. They asked me to go to Ireland for three weeks. That's ridiculous. How am I supposed to stay away from… from _home_ for three weeks?" She looked at him and darkened as he sighed again.

"I swear that _home_ will be taken care of," he replied quietly.

Ginny shook her head. "The question is mute anyway, because I've already said no and they are sending Wilda Griffiths," she said firmly.

Harry nodded tiredly at her and luckily he seemed too weary to continue that conversation with her. Well, he didn't know how she felt when they offered her those kind of jobs. She was alright to stay away for a day when she had to report on the usual Quidditch matches that took place every week. Many times Lily had tagged along and they had had some wonderful mother-daughter time, but three weeks away from her… no, no, no. That was absolutely ridiculous.

"Okay," said Harry, "do I have time to take a shower before—oh, I almost forgot to tell you that James invited Rose for dinner and that—"

A sharp, almost nervous knock on the door cut off Harry's sentence.

There was a squeal coming from the kitchen and Taffy hurried to say, "Taffy will open the door!" That enthusiastic shout was followed by a low growl, "Kreacher will open the door. Taffy will continue cooking!" Then there was a little scream, probably Kreacher pulling Taffy's ears, and then a thump, probably Taffy pushing Kreacher to the floor.

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. "They are never going to learn, are they?"

Ginny shook her head. "Hermione has a theory, she says that they are in love," she giggled.

"Yes, right," snorted Harry, looking towards the hall. "Shall I open the door?"

At that moment Taffy screamed again and seemed to leap for the door. She opened it and then she was a profusion of, "Master Scorpius" and "Taffy will take your cloak."

Ginny turned to look at the Grandfather Clock again. Lily's hand was still pointing towards 'work'. Why was Scorpius there already? Not that that was unusual, he sometimes came over when Lily was not there, just to have a nice chat with them or ask Harry something Auror-related. But somehow Ginny didn't feel quite at ease about him being there without Lily at that moment.

"Scorpius," said Ginny anxiously as she stood up, "what are you doing here? Where's Lily? Is everything okay?"

Harry smiled at him. "Scorpius, did you get my memo today? Lily is staying overtime for a meeting at the school," he told him, "you are welcome to—"

"She's what?" asked Ginny scandalised. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Harry smiled sheepishly. "I was right about to do it, when Scorpius knocked on the door," he replied.

"Good evening, Mister Potter," murmured Scorpius, and even though his voice was as polite as always, there was a certain edge to it, "Mrs Potter."

"Is everything okay, Scorpius?" asked Harry, furrowing his brow. "You are a bit early, I thought you and Al were going to St Mungo's to have a look at Toots' folder."

"Tomorrow," replied Scorpius quietly. "I… I needed to talk to you…"

"To me?" asked Harry. "Is there something wrong with your new Auror partner? Are you already hexing each other while on duty?"

Scorpius smiled nervously. "No, we haven't _already_," he replied. "I need to talk to you… I mean _both_ of you… I need to ask you something."

Ginny gaped at him. Her daughter's boyfriend needed to talk to them about something. Something that seemed to worry him greatly if his tone of voice and the way his lips curved upwards while all the muscles of his face seemed to tense were of any indication. Was he breaking up with Lily? Well, he would have told her first, wouldn't he? Maybe he had already told her, and now he just wanted to let them know that their daughter was going to cry her eyes out for the upcoming month or so. Or maybe… no, surely he wasn't going to ask them what Ginny thought he was… That was stupid.

"Well, I was right on my way to take a shower, Scorpius," said Harry, "if you can wait a few minutes, maybe Al and—"

Scorpius shook his head. "It can't wait, I'm sorry," he murmured. He pushed his hand into his pocket and fished out a little square box covered in green velvet. He lowered his eyes to look at it and started to fidget nervously. "I…"

Ginny's heart started to race in her chest. _That surely wasn't_—

He opened the box and a beautiful gold ring covered in emeralds and diamonds peeked from a sea of more green velvet.

_That surely was_.

Ginny could feel Harry's breath catch in his throat next to her. She knew he understood perfectly well. For a moment, she almost hoped that Scorpius was really going to break things off with Lily. Yes, that was a terrible thing, but this was just worse.

"That's a beautiful ring, Scorpius," breathed Harry nervously.

He gave a hint of a smile. "It was my mother's engagement ring."

Ginny darkened. "Well, isn't she going to notice that it's missing?" she asked coldly.

Scorpius didn't look at her. Surely he was feeling guilty. He should have felt guilty, honestly. "She gave it to me."

"And I don't think she'd like for you to go around and show it to everybody, then," she snapped heatedly.

"Ginny," murmured Harry.

"No! No! No!" she snarled. "No!" She looked at Scorpius, trying to kill him with a glare. She didn't succeed. "She's twenty-one. She's too young to get married!"

Scorpius had the decency to lower his eyes. "I love her," he murmured. "I would never… I just want your blessing."

Well, that was something that Ginny wasn't going to give him any time soon. "She is too young to be anybody's wife," she told him icily, "and you. You still live home with your parents. What would the two of you do? Live at the Manor?"

Scorpius looked at her, bravely holding her gaze. "I don't want to marry her tomorrow," he told her, "I just want her to know that… that I want her to be with me forever."

"Well, tell her… tell her without the ring," grunted Ginny. "Tell her that you love her and don't ask her to marry you." She took a deep breath. "She loves you, I know she does, but… she's just a child, you can't—"

"She's not a child," Scorpius cut her off, surprising her as well as Harry, who stared at him with his eyebrows raised. "She's an adult."

Ginny pressed her lips in a thin lin. She didn't need someone else to tell her what her husband and her two sons kept repeating to her. "She's _my_ child," she thundered, "just like Al and James are. To me they are all—"

"Only she is not," retorted Scorpius, "you have double standards with her. You treat her like she is a little girl, like she is not able to do anything by herself."

"Scorpius, I think my wife—"

"Don't you dare, Scorpius Malfoy," hissed Ginny, feeling her heartbeat pound away in her temples, "if I treat her differently it's because she didn't have the normal life that my other children had. She is different."

"She doesn't want to be," insisted Scorpius. "She wants to be treated like the adult she is… she… she doesn't want to sleep with you anymore. She does that because you want her to."

Ginny brought her hand to her mouth. No, that was a lie. Her daughter… she always asked her to sleep with her when they had a little quarrel. She needed her mother, that's why she slept with her.

"And she wants to be able to come home by herself from work," continued Scorpius, "and to go out with her friends and cousins without needing an escort."

"Shut up," hissed Ginny. "Just shut up."

"And I'm sure she'd want to marry me tomorrow," continued Scorpius, his voice hard as a rock now, "if it was just to get away from you."

Ginny moved so quickly that she was sure that Scorpius hadn't seen her at all. Surely, she almost hadn't noticed her movements herself, but the slap resounded loud and clear in the silence of Grimmauld Place.

She hadn't wanted to slap him. No, she loved Scorpius like her own child. If it hadn't been for him, Lily would have never been found. But what he was saying, his accusatory tone of voice and the way he stared at her with defiance as if to dare her to say that those were lies, just made her blood boil in her veins.

"Get out of my house," she snarled as his cheek started to blush in the shape of her hand.

"Ginny—"

"Get out, Malfoy," she repeated. "Take your ring with you and get out of my house."

"Ginny, calm down." Harry's voice was almost as nervous as she felt. He walked to where she was standing and grabbed her shoulder, making her turn to look at him. "Ginny, please—"

"I don't want him in my house," she told Harry, her throat getting tighter as the echo of his words still stung her heart. "I don't want him here," she repeated. She could feel the tears swelling up in her eyes.

He didn't understand, he was just a boy, he couldn't understand. Lily was her child, her baby, the child that was taken away from her. Nobody understood how she had felt, and now… yes, maybe… maybe she was trying to keep Lily close to her, maybe, but if she did that it was only because she loved her.

She hid her face in Harry's chest and he hugged her tightly.

"I think you should go home for tonight, Scorpius," murmured Harry. "I'm sure Rose will be happy to go and pick Lily up."

Scorpius didn't move. "Mrs Potter, I'm sorry," he said, his voice truly pained, "I didn't mean to… I know you love her, but… I love her too…"

Ginny didn't look at him. She let Harry cradle her in his arms as she listened to Scorpius' steps fading away as he finally desisted, and the front door closing at his back. And then she finally started crying in earnest.

Because Scorpius' words stung.

Because she knew that deep down they were the hard truth.

oooOOOooo

Lily stood up from one of the little chairs where she and the other nine girls in Miss Mitzy's staff had been sitting for the past half hour. She stretched her legs and creaked her back to send the stiffness away.

"Lily," Betsy called her. Betsy Rogers was the girl who taught the group of five-six years old children, a blonde, tall and beautiful young lady, and the closer in age to Lily amongst all the teachers. "I am so looking forward to go to the Ministry, aren't you?" she asked, smiling warmly. "I've never been there."

Lily was looking forward to the outing as well. Even though she had been at the Ministry more times than she could count, this would have been her first outing with the school and the children, the first time that she was required to keep a proper eye on her students in an environment different from the classroom.

"Yes," replied Lily, checking her notes. "All I have to do is give the parents the permission slits, right? And then collect them back and give them to Miss Mitzy before the end of the week."

Betsy smiled at her. "Oh, don't worry," she told her gently, "it's just that, yes. And then remind the parents about the outing the day before it, some tend to forget and then they come to pick their children up at the same time, but we might still be away."

Lily smiled back, a bit nervously. "And then I have to make sure that none of them wanders off while we are at the Ministry," she said anxiously.

"Well, lucky you that you can ask your boyfriend to help you with that," she grinned, winking at her. "My fiancé doesn't even like children, so he wouldn't help even if we were doing an outing to Quality Quidditch Supplies where he works. Scorpius likes children, doesn't he?"

She furrowed her brow in concentration. She had never seen him holding a child, really, but he had never mentioned the fact that he didn't like them. Of course, he called them 'midgets', but it was usually just to have a laugh. And he smiled at them and Violet had given him a Valentine's card the day before, and he had showed it to her all proudly.

And yes, Lily wanted to have as many children as Grandma Molly—no! Even more. She wanted twelve… and she needed Scorpius to love them as much as he loved her.

"He does," she assured Betsy with a smile. "He loves children. We are going to have twelve of them."

Betsy laughed as if she found it an amusing joke. "That's basically your class, Lily," she pointed out. "Okay, I better go now, Charles will wonder where I am and who's going to cook for dinner…" She sighed loudly. "Not that he's going to get anything ready, he'd rather starve to death than cook…" She shook her head and shrugged a shoulder as if she was resigned already to never expect him to do anything. "See you tomorrow, Lils," she told her, kissing her cheek.

"Have a good evening, Betsy," replied Lily as she kissed her cheek back. She stared at the young woman walking out of the classroom that most of the other girls had already left. Only a few were still lingering behind to talk details about the outing with Miss Mitzy, some were waving their goodbyes and saying, "See you tomorrow," with smiles upon their faces.

Lily pushed the parchment with her notes into her bag and frowned a little upon what Betsy had just said. She lived with her fiancé and he didn't know how to cook, so she had to cook for herself and for him. Well, that meant that they didn't own a house-elf, for sure, but it also meant that Betsy took care of Charles.

Just like Grandma took care of Granddad Arthur, and Mum of Dad, and Aunt Hermione of Uncle Ron.

Did that mean that when Lily and Scorpius became a family, she had to take care of him? That was quite a terrifying thought because… she didn't know anything! She didn't know how to cook, she didn't know how to wash the bed linen, she didn't know how to iron her clothes, she didn't know how to clean a house. Her mother had never showed her, and Lily had learned how to bathe alone only a few years before.

Maybe she could have brought Taffy with her once she moved in with Scorpius. Well, of course she would do that, Taffy was her friend and Lily was her rightful owner, Doge himself had said that. Lily remembered, she remembered everything. It was her gift.

"Lily."

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the unexpected voice calling her. She raised her eyes and met the blue ones of her cousin.

Rose was standing on the door and smiling at her. Her red curls were a halo around her face. Her cheeks were rather flushed as if she had either stood in the sun or in the cold wind for too long. She waved at her and Lily threw her bag over her shoulder and walked hastily to her.

"Rose," she exclaimed happily, as she hugged her. "Thank you for coming to pick me up." She stood on tiptoes to look over her shoulder and see if she was coming with anybody else, but she seemed alone. "Is Scorpius working late?" she asked, trying hard not to sound too disappointed. Rose didn't have to come all the way to Wales to pick her up after a hard day of work, surely she had offered because she was a nice girl and because she loved her cousin.

"Scorpius is staying at the Manor for dinner tonight," replied Rose, not looking into her eyes, "so I took the chance to come and pick you up. We haven't talked in ages, Lils, I missed you." She gave her another smile and Lily pushed at the back of her head any thought of Scorpius eating at the Manor and not being able to see him for that day. He didn't even Floo Called her to let her know though, that was weird…

"James invited me for dinner at Grimmauld Place," Rose told her, "he took pity on me, I think…"

"Oh, Rose!" exclaimed Lily, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to hug her. "Of course he didn't," she told her, "I'm sure he just likes to have you around. Just like I do, and Al, and Mum and Dad, and Scorpius…"

"Well, I accepted because I wanted to see you," she admitted. "It's been far too long. You have to tell me everything, is it true that you're coming to the Ministry with the children?"

Lily nodded enthusiastically. "Next week," she replied, "you're going to be there, aren't you?"

Rose nodded back. "Well, unless I'm off staring at more dead unicorns with James…"

Lily brought a hand to her mouth. "Dead unicorns?" she asked. "That's terrible!"

"I know, right?" sighed Rose. "I thought I was going to be sick when I saw them…" She took a deep breath and added, "I think we should go, Aunt Ginny told me to get you home straight away, no dawdling nor chatting." She smiled. "Plenty of time to do that at home."

Lily nodded. She turned to wave goodbye to the few girls who were still there and to Miss Mitzy.

"See you tomorrow, Lily," replied the old woman. "Good evening, Auror Weasley."

Rose nodded and smiled and soon the two cousins were walking towards the front door of the school and into the garden.

Lily looked at Rose and furrowed her brow. "Would you like me to Apparate you to Grimmauld Place?" she asked gently. If she had almost felt sick that afternoon probably it was better for her not to try to Apparate too much.

Rose smiled. "Well, I did Splinch a lock," she admitted, moving away her mass of curls from her side to show her a lock of dark red hair missing, "but I'm alright, I swear."

"Don't be silly," replied Lily, offering her a hand. "Let's go."

Rose took her hand, grinning gratefully at her cousin. The poor thing let Lily pull her in the side-along Apparition and soon they were standing in front of Grimmauld Place. It was nice. Scorpius always tucked her under his arm and Apparated her home, but for once it was actually nice to be the one to have control on the Apparition process. It made her feel all grown up.

Rose took a deep breath and steadied herself. "You are good," she told Lily, "I think you are almost better than my Dad. When I was little and he Apparated me somewhere I always felt rather wobbly afterwards."

Lily gloated at that. Of course, Rose was not little now, but still… It was nice to hear that.

They walked to the door and Lily unlocked it and walked inside, followed by Rose. It felt rather strange not to turn to kiss Scorpius quickly before they walked into the kitchen where the whole family was reunited, nor to hear his voice as they took off their shoes, or having him spraying her with water as they stopped in the little loo to wash their hands. But she was looking forward to chatting the evening away with Rose. Maybe she could have stayed the night and they would have talked and talked and talked until they fell asleep.

"You are late," was her mother's greeting as they walked into the kitchen. "I was worried…" Her voice trailed away as she fidgeted with the wooden spoons in her hands, avoiding to look at Lily. "I was worried I couldn't fend off your brothers' attacks to the pasta."

"I'm starving," complained Albus, standing to kiss Lily's forehead, before eyeing Rose suspiciously. "Hey Rosie," he said, "you okay?"

Rose huffed a reply, "Yes, thank you for asking, Al." She looked over his shoulder at James and smiled. "My favourite male cousin is a much better Auror partner than you." She stuck out her tongue to him and Albus cocked an eyebrow unimpressed.

"Good, because Scorpius cries much less than you do," he replied, sticking out his tongue now, "and only when he has his period."

"Al!" protested Lily, slapping his arm.

He chuckled as he hugged her tightly. "I'm joking," he told her, "I love him. I love him so much you better watch out. I might snatch him from you."

Her dad walked into the kitchen. "Is everybody here?" he asked. "Can we eat? Hi, my sweet." He kissed Lily's head. "Hello Rosie," he added, giving her a one-armed hug.

"Hi Uncle Harry," she replied, smiling. "Thank you for having me."

"Oh, you come whenever you want, Rosie," said Lily's mother. "Don't wait for my uncivilised sons to invite you once in a blue moon. You just come, okay?"

She nodded as they all sat down at the table. "Thank you, Auntie."

"Have you washed your hands, Lily?" asked her mother.

She nodded. "Yes, Mum," she sighed. "Al, why is Scorpius not coming tonight? Is he alright?"

"Lily, help yourself to some pasta, dear, Taffy cooked it for you and Kreacher helped," said her mother, her voice slightly tense.

"Thank you," she replied, helping herself a generous spoonful, before looking back at Albus again. "Was there some problem at work? You didn't have a row, did you?"

Albus swallowed the bread that he had stuffed in his mouth. "Nope," he replied, "but he had something to do this afternoon, but wouldn't tell me what… He had lunch at the Manor, though."

"Oh, did he?" asked Lily.

"Probably he was just missing his mother, Lily," said her mother, "probably he wanted to spend some time with her. After all, he is always here. People miss their mothers, don't they, dear?"

Lily looked at her thoughtfully. "Yes, I guess."

Her mother smiled nervously. "Wouldn't you miss me, Lily, if you didn't see me every day?" she asked, her voice a bit choked.

Lily smiled at her. "Immensely, Mum," she assured her.

Her mother nodded and closed her eyes. Somehow she seemed to take a deep breath of relief, as if she hadn't been sure that might have been her daughter's reply. "Exactly," she murmured. "And I would miss you so much."

"Hey!" called Albus. "Nobody would miss me here?"

"No," chorused Rose and James, before the whole table burst into laughter.

Albus rolled his eyes and just demanded for the pasta to finally be passed around. Then they all ate and the pasta was delicious and Lily thought that it would have been nice to ask Taffy how she made it, and then one day cooking it for Scorpius…

oooOOOooo

Draco flicked his wand and the Crup food appeared in the bowls in front of the hungry parents and their five puppies. Well, puppies, so much for puppies now, they were almost seven months old and were loud and vivacious and definitely quite aggressive towards the Muggles of the nearby village. Draco had had the pleasure to notice how they loved to make people scream and run. Honestly, he loved that breed. And if it hadn't been for the Ministry restrictions, he would have never severed their forked tail at six weeks.

They all ate avidly, all except for one. Little Sparky there. He just licked a bit at the expensive food, before turning away and, with a proper sigh, lying down, his sad snout on his paws.

Draco sighed too. His Crups should not be called 'Sparky'. His Crups were called Brutus and Rex and Noble and Cleopatra, not… _Sparky_. Surely that was why that little boy there wouldn't want to eat. Surely he could sense that his name was so ridiculous.

Draco sighed again. No, that little pup there missed his little owner. Somehow he could sense that the young lady who gave him that ridiculous name was his owner. The one Draco himself had gifted him to. And somehow he missed her even though they had had very little time to bond, thanks to Scorpius' desire to keep Lily away from the Manor and from Draco.

The door to the room Draco had destined to the Crups opened and Astoria's soft steps neared him.

"Are they all well?" she asked, looking at the eating animals as she placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.

Draco turned his head to kiss her hand. "All well except for Sparky," he told her, "he misses his owner."

"What if we invite Lily over to cuddle him a little," she replied, "would that help?"

"It would help if she brought him home with her," replied Draco curtly. _Or if she came to live at the Manor_, but from what Scorpius had told them about his discussion with the Potters, that didn't seem to be happening any time soon. Draco would have never imagined that one day he would have actually felt rather disappointed that the Potters – well, Ginny Potter – would forbid his son to ask their daughter's hand in marriage. If anything, he thought he would have been right there with them, shaking his head in disapproval, but now, all he wanted was for Scorpius to marry the woman he had done follies for. The one he had paid two thousands Galleons just to talk to.

The Crups licked the bowls clean and then licked their own muzzles.

Astoria whistled gently. "Regina," she called her Crup, patting her leg. The animal ran to her and started to jump up and down around her ankles. "Who's a good girl?" asked Astoria, bending down to scratch her behind her ears. "Who's a good girl? You are. Yes, you are."

The Crup woofed at her and tapped her tail on the floor happily.

"I might take them out this weekend," said Draco nonchalantly, "maybe for a little walk in the village…"

Astoria looked at him and cocked an eyebrow. "You are not going to set them on the Muggles, are you, Draco?"

He brought a hand to his heart, faking indignation. "Astoria, my dear, you can't set a Crup on a Muggle," he replied, "it's in their instinct."

He kissed her scowl away before she could retort something to him.

oooOOOooo

Rose changed into one of Lily's nightgowns and folded her Auror uniform on a chair. She hurried to the bed and lay down next to her cousin, bringing the blankets up to her chin.

"Your house is cold," she told Lily, staring at the canopy. "Have I ever told you that?"

Lily giggled. "Every time you came to stay," she replied.

_And even before you were taken away_, Rose wanted to tell her, but she didn't. "Well, I'm sorry, but it is," she let her know. "My poor toes are freezing."

Lily giggled again and Rose heard her moving on the bed, until her own feet were touching hers. They were cold too, but they brushed them together and she felt instantaneously better. "Scorpius is always warm," she told her.

Rose sighed. "Emeric was too," she whispered. She was not going to cry. No, no, no. She was all cried out over that stupid of his ex-boyfriend. She was going to enjoy her time there with Lily, they would talk a little, then sleep than go to work the next day. End of story.

"I think Emeric is silly," said Lily all of a sudden, turning to look at her and propping herself up on her elbow.

Rose sighed. "Do you?" she asked reluctantly.

Lily nodded. "I don't think that anybody in their right mind would ever leave you," she whispered. "You are the best Auror – don't tell Scorpius –, the most beautiful girl – don't tell Dominique –, the nicest person – don't tell my mum…"

Rose laughed quietly. "Oh, come on, Lily," she told her, "tell me what you want and stop flattering me."

Lily giggled as she moved a bit closer to her. Rose wrapped an arm around her cousin's shoulders and Lily leaned her head on her shoulder. "I'm not," she replied, "I'm stating the truth."

"Well, thank you," replied Rose, "I'm happy you are my cousin."

"I'm happy too," sighed Lily. "Rose?"

"Hmm."

"Can you cook?"

Rose furrowed her brow. "Well, I'm not like Grandma, but I'm not too bad," she replied slowly, "I'm good with you know bangers and mash, and fish and chips and meat pies… all things that are not good for your health."

"I want to learn how to cook," said Lily seriously.

"Really?" asked Rose, that was new.

Lily nodded against her shoulder. "Yes, for when I have to take care of Scorpius," she confessed, "I mean, it'll happen sooner or later, right? We'll have a family…"

"Sooner than me, that's for sure," sighed Rose, feeling her throat tightening. _Not again!_

Lily kissed her cheek "Sorry," she told her, "right, let's talk about something else. Tell me everything about the unicorn case."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "Why don't you tell me everything about the children, anything interesting happened lately?"

"Actually, yes," replied Lily, "Scorpius said not to worry, but I probably need a woman's opinion on this."

"Come on, then."

And as Lily told her everything that had happened with the little child and her mother sporting a bruise, Rose managed not to think about men for a the rest of the night.

oooOOOooo

"You think I'm wrong," said Ginny from her vanity.

"No," replied Harry calmly, "after almost thirty years of marriage, I think you are always right."

"Harry…"

He folded the Prophet and put it on the bedside table. "I swear, Ginny, you are right."

"And Scorpius is wrong," she murmured, as she stood up and shed her nightgown.

He shook his head. "No, he is right too," he replied, "you are only seeing things from two different perspectives, but you are both right."

She sat on the bed and finished spreading her hand lotion on the back of her hands. "You think we should let her go, don't you?" she asked, almost accusatorily. "You think it's right that she goes off and marries to the first boy she fell in love with."

"She will have to go off and do something without us sooner or later," he pointed out, "we are not going to be here forever to protect her."

Ginny snorted. "We still have at least eighty years ahead of us," she replied curtly. "I'm sure as hell planning to spend them close to my daughter."

Harry chuckled as she finally pushed away the covers and lay down. "Well, yes, I think that by the age of a hundred she'll have discarded all those silly thoughts of having her own family and marrying to the boy she loves."

Ginny darkened. "If you say it like this, it makes me feel like I am wrong."

"Does it?" asked Harry, taking off his glasses and setting them on his bedside table.

Ginny tugged the covers up to her chin. "Goodnight," she said rather gruffly.

"Night, dear," replied Harry softly as he turned off the light.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: **I honestly love the Albus/Scorpius exchange and the Lily/Ginny interaction in this chapter. And I love Ginny, I pity her for what she had to go through with Lily, I really hope that you don't see any bashing in the way I portray her here. She's just a poor mother whose daughter had been taken away from her and who now is just trying to hang onto something that is not there any more. But I love her. Thank you my dear, dear reviewers. You're the best reviewers I could ask for! You always make my day. Enjoy the chapter!

Ah! Also a little notice: I've just posted the very first instalment of my "The Blossom and the Dragon" series. It's a one-shot and it's called "Pride". The series is a Draco/Pansy story of love, lust, infidelity, torture, murder, life and death. I'm extremely proud of it, but it's very different from this story. But just in case someone is interested I'll tell you that updates - this one-shot is followed by a 210,000-word-long story and more one-shots, drabbles and two-shots - will come every Saturdays (honestly, once a week is more than enough, since chapters are up to 22,000 words). It's beta-read and it's good. I'm so excited! Okay, you can go and read the chapter now!

* * *

**Chapter Four**

"I missed you last night."

"Sod off, Al," grunted Scorpius.

"No, I swear, I missed you," replied the dark haired Auror, "I was almost going to cry."

"Can you just shut up?"

"Lily cried…"

Scorpius turned his head so quickly, he felt his neck creaking. "Did she?" he asked softly.

"Nah," he replied, "she was alright. Rose stayed over for the night. Didn't even remember she had a boyfriend." He looked at him and grinned, "Come on, tell me what's wrong…"

Scorpius stopped in his track. "Listen, Al, if you don't shut up, I'm going to give you a very good reason for being here at St Mungo's."

"We've a good reason."

"Yeah… no, we don't." The Tilden Toots case was a not a good reason. He wished he was in Knockturn Alley with James at that moment, checking the Black Market for illegal pieces of unicorn being sold in some dodgy alley.

"Auror Potter, Auror Malfoy," said a tall Healer with a moustache. "We've been expecting you."

"I believe you have all the papers ready for our perusal," commented Scorpius. Honestly, the sooner Albus convinced himself that there was nothing shady there the better.

"Yes," replied the Healer, "if you can follow me, I'll—"

"Albus, Scorpius," called Healer Pye, waving a hand as he walked out of a room. "Do we have an appointment and I forgot? Is that why you're here?"

Albus shook his head. "No, Healer Pye," he replied, "we're investigating a case."

He nodded. "I see," he replied, closing a folder he held in his hands. "How's Lily?"

"She's well," replied Scorpius. He hadn't seen her for the whole day and he honestly felt as if he couldn't really reply to that question. Was she well? Albus said she was, but Albus was as sensitive as a teaspoon, of course he wouldn't have been able to tell if Lily was upset that he hadn't gone to pick her up or that he hadn't showed up at Grimmauld Place without telling her. He sighed. To think that if Mrs Potter had reacted differently to the ring, he would already be engaged to her and probably now sporting a very good headache after having gotten drunk the night before.

Instead he had left Grimmauld Place, gone back to the Manor and gone to bed without touching his dinner. He hadn't slept at all, thinking all the time about Lily and how worried she must have been not to see him for the whole day, and then he had devoured his breakfast that morning before going to work.

And now he was standing in St Mungo's with Albus, and even though the night before he hadn't drunk at all, he could still feel a slight headache kicking in…

"Is everything alright, Scorpius?" asked Healer Pye.

"No, it's not," replied Albus at his place, "he's been quiet and moody all morning… Well, not that he's much different from the other days, now that I think about it…"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "How can I not be moody when I am forced to work with a subject like this?" he asked the Healer, nodding towards Albus.

The Healer laughed heartily, thinking it probably a joke. Well, it was not. Albus was always cheerful and always trying to understand what was wrong with people by being the most annoying person ever. How could one not be moody around him?

"Right, lads," said the Healer, "good luck with your job. I'll see you soon."

"Thank you, Healer Pye," replied Scorpius.

"Have a good day," Albus told him.

Healer Pye took a few steps and pushed another door open. "Ah, Mrs Phyllis, I see the swelling has gone down…"

The door closed at his back and Scorpius and Albus glanced at each other before they turned to look at the Healer who was patiently waiting for them. "Can we go?" he asked them.

"Yes, yes," replied Scorpius, "the sooner Auror Potter convinces himself that there's no case here the better."

Albus glared at him, but didn't reply. Honestly, what could he have replied anyway?

The Healer guided them down a long corridor, then up some stairs, then down again, then through a maze of offices and archives covered in papers, then down some more steps and finally through a door labelled 'Criminal Archive'.

"Here you go," said the Healer. He pointed towards the table where some folders lay already open. "We've prepared the reports for you. In duplicate as you asked."

"Thank you," said Albus, walking inside. "Shall we come and find you once we've finished here?"

The Healer nodded. "Yes, I'll be in my office upstairs," he replied, "good luck with your job."

Scorpius nodded as he walked inside as well, and the Healer finally closed the door at their backs. The room was small and the walls were covered in old folders and papers of ancient and more recent cases. Very probably Lily's folder was there as well. A thick pile of papers with all the details of the abuses and rapes and tortures she had undergone with Nott.

"Well, come on Auror Malfoy," said Albus, pushing the chair in front of him with his foot. When had he sat down? "It's in duplicate."

Scorpius rolled his eyes as he dragged himself to the table. "I wonder what we're going to do after you've convinced yourself that this case is not a case," he told him as he opened the folder.

"And I'm wondering what you're going to say after you've convinced yourself that this is a case," he retorted.

Scorpius shook his head and looked at the papers in front of him. Surely, that was a joke. There were barely a dozen of lines about Toots. Merlin, if that wasn't a joke, he didn't know what to think.

_Tilden Toots was already deceased by the time he'd reached the hospital. His wife had found his lifeless body in the study, with a half-drunk cup of his famous Fanged Geranium and Honking Daffodil infusion near his hand. However, upon further testing, the infusion was shown to contain traces of hellbore— a poisonous plant that swiftly brings death upon its user when large quantities of it are used. No other plants were shown to be present in the infusion or in Mr Toots' digestive system, nor were other methods of death detected on his being._

And that was all.

"Okay," said Scorpius, "I promise I won't say, 'I told you so,' when you agree that there's no case here."

Albus looked at him. "You are joking, right?" he said. "Mr Toots was not an incompetent. Someone must have slipped him the hellbore."

"Someone who?" asked Scorpius. "His wife said that, yes of course, many people went to see him, but he was just a gardener, Al, people don't go around killing gardeners."

"We have to go to the WWN," said Albus, not listening to him, "maybe someone had contacted him there. Maybe someone threatened him."

"Who? Someone whose rose bush died after he had followed Toots' suggestions?"

Albus nodded forcefully. "You should see my grandma talking to her lilies," he retorted, "as if they were people themselves."

"So?" snapped Scorpius.

"People go crazy over their flowers and plants," he told him, "Aunt Luna would kill for her Dirigible Plums."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "This is ridiculous…" he grunted.

"Why would Toots have hellbore in his house if it was poisonous?" snapped Albus.

"He was a gardener," he replied, "I have no clue why he would have it in his house. Maybe for some potion? Or to study it? I don't know! Do I look like Professor Longbottom?"

Albus' eyes snapped open as he gaped at Scorpius.

"Oh no," said Scorpius, shaking his head, "no. No. _No_!"

"We have to."

"The only thing we have to do is closing this case," said Scorpius sharply.

"We can go this afternoon," continued Albus. "Yes, we better go and Floo Call Hogwarts to see if he can receive us." He stood up and walked towards the door, completely ignoring Scorpius in the process.

"Al," he called him, "Al! Wait… oh, Merlin's beard! At least wait for me."

Albus stopped dead and turned to look at him. "Yeah, well… how do we get back to the Healer's office?" he asked, staring at the corridor to his right and then his left.

Scorpius shook his head. "No clue," he admitted, "Lily would remember…"

"Yeah, she would," agreed Albus. "Well, I'd say right."

"I'll follow you," sighed Scorpius.

And obviously, it was left.

oooOOOooo

"I said I'm sorry already, Hugo!" snapped Teddy. "You try to follow all the Auror matches at work, follow your own case, go back home and take care of your two-year-old son whose mother is knackered after she has worked for the whole day as well and go to bed at ten only to be waken at eleven by said son because he had a nightmare and have him sleeping in your bed and punching you regularly throughout the night!" He took a deep breath and looked at Harry and Ron, they were snickering not so subtly at him. Oh well!

"You paired me up with my sister's ex-boyfriend," repeated Hugo for the umpteenth time. "I can't work with him! It's… it's awkward!"

"It's your sister's ex-boyfriend, not yours Hugo," pointed out Ron.

Hugo glared at him. "You wanted to hex him, Dad," he replied gruffly.

"And I didn't, did I?" he told him evenly.

Hugo rolled his eyes. "Listen, Teddy, please, make me work with anybody else," he pleaded, "anybody… James?"

"James is working with Rose," said Harry calmly, "and Scorpius is working with Albus."

"Well, Scorpius has always been friends with Emeric," suggested Hugo, "pair them up. I'll work with Albus."

Teddy took a deep breath. "Listen, I'll have you doing some office work," he told him coaxingly, "you won't even have to see him."

Hugo sighed. "But I want to follow a case…"

Teddy rolled his eyes. "I wonder if you'd be here complaining about your partner if I wasn't your cousin, the Head Auror wasn't your uncle and his Deputy wasn't your father, Auror Weasley."

"Of course I'd be," grunted Hugo, "and I'm sure I'd be taken more seriously."

"You'd be sent to fetch ink bottles and parchments for your colleagues if you did that to someone you didn't know…" muttered Teddy.

Hugo rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "So, it's a no?" he asked sharply.

"It's a no," replied Teddy curtly. "Find a way to collaborate with him. He is surely more mature than you are… he didn't come to protest about his partner."

Hugo's cheeks flushed slightly, but he huffed before nodding curtly at them and finally walking away.

Teddy took a deep breath. If he could he would already find Hugo another partner, but all of the Aurors were already working on something and to be quite honest, Hugo had to pull himself together and try to work even with the young man who had just left his sister after almost five years of steady relationship.

"Is it tougher to be an Auror or to be a father, Teddy?" asked Harry with a grin.

Teddy glared at him. "Can't decide," he replied, standing up and walking towards the door. "I'll see you later."

"Teddy," Harry called him, "can I ask you for a favour?"

"Sure, Harry."

He seemed to take a deep breath before saying, "In case Scorpius might not make it to the school to pick up Lily in the upcoming days, would you be a lamb and bring her to Grimmauld Place?"

Teddy smiled and nodded. "No problem," he said, "is everything alright?"

Harry nodded. "I hope so."

"Sweet. Well, I'll see you later." And with that he left the two Aurors alone.

oooOOOooo

Lily scooped up little Alfie in her arms. "Oh no," she cooed him, "don't cry. Are you not feeling well, Alfie? Are you missing Mummy?" She rocked him gently in her arms and the boy leaned his wet face against her shoulder, sniffling soundly. "There, there, Lily is here," she told him, patting his back.

"Lily!" cried Remus. "Lily, look!" He held up a drawing of a tall stickman with a blue bush on top of his head and another slightly shorter one with blonde hair and a flowery skirt. In-between there was a really small one with green hair. Just like Remus at that very time.

"Oh, it's beautiful, Remus," she told him warmly. "This is your best drawing yet."

The child gloated blissfully at her words and he went back to adding something to the paper. A big yellow dot with lines coming out of it.

Alfie sniffled again in her arms.

"Oh no," said Lily, bobbing him up and down gently, "no, everything is fine, Alfie." She raised her hand to touch his forehead, but he was cool and really did seem fine. "You want your teddy bear?" she asked him, caressing his head. "Let's go find your teddy bear, Mummy always puts it in your bag, doesn't she?" She walked back to Alfie's little chair and grabbed his bag with a hand while she kept rocking him with her other arm. She brought the bag on her desk and started to open it and rummage through its content. It wasn't an easy task with an arm busy supporting the child.

There were some nappies, a small, soft blanket, a bib, a dummy in a little plastic container, crayons and an apple. But no teddy bear.

"Oh Alfie," she told him dejectedly. "Mummy forgot your teddy bear." She rocked him a bit more and looked disconsolately at the content of the bag. "Do you want your dummy?"

The child nodded on her shoulder and sniffled again, his little fingers flicking some of her red hair. She fiddled with the plastic container until she managed to open it and offered the dummy to the little boy. He opened his mouth and started to suck on it quietly, his big, clear tears pooling at the corner of his eyes.

Lily closed the bag and leaned her head against the child's, patting his back soothingly. Alfie was not a very talkative little boy, but he had never cried for apparently no reason. Something was going on with that child, surely she would have had to talk to his mother that evening when she came to pick him up. Yes, Lily would have confronted her, even if Scorpius had advised her not to.

He couldn't really understand all the little signals that the children sent them, but she did.

oooOOOooo

"A nice necklace for your girlfriend, lad," slurred an old man behind the counter, "lapis lazuli from Egypt to bring out the blue of her eyes."

"He is not my boyfriend!" protested Rose with far more revulsion than James thought it was flatteringly. "He is my partner, we are Aurors and we are investigating a case here."

The man looked at her and put down the necklace. "I'm sorry, _Auror_," he said oily, "I didn't know you were on duty. Such a pretty lady, though, wouldn't you buy a pair of earrings?"

"Listen," said James sternly, "we're not here to buy." He folded his arms across his chest. "We're here to ask you a few questions."

"I'm an honest merchant who only buys and sells perfectly legal goods," he told them with a toothless smile. "Anything you buy here has its own certificate, Auror."

James narrowed his eyes as he glanced around himself. Yes, of course… an absolute honest man. Just like the other fifty shop owners they had gone to talk to. Nobody knew anything about unicorn blood or horn powder or unicorn fur, and those who sold either fur or horn had showed them the documents that certified the origin of the products.

James and Rose had been subtle and hadn't let anybody know what they were looking for – the first thirty times or so that they had walked into a shop, but now… now they were just losing their patience and probably coming to the conclusion that whoever had slain those unicorns did not have any will to sell the blood nor the fur or the horns. That or everybody was lying to them, which was very possible. They were just investigating, they couldn't open the closed doors of the dodgy back shops as if they had a warrant. Not yet at least.

"And I don't sell unicorn parts," huffed the man behind the counter.

Rose rolled her eyes. "How do you even know we are looking for unicorn parts?" she asked annoyed.

"News get around quickly in Knockturn Alley, love," he told her with a sneer.

James folded his arms across his chest. "Alright," he said, "we'll have a look around. Don't go anywhere."

"Wouldn't dream of," he replied, "I've a business to run here."

James nodded towards Rose and she glared at the man before following James through the high shelves. "We are wasting time," she sighed, "those people are not going to talk and if they were, they wouldn't have anything to say anyway."

"You think that whoever slew those animals didn't do it for the money?"

"I don't know," she replied, "did you remember the unicorns? They had been dead for a week, but their bodies were not rotten. Unicorns don't spoil, maybe they are waiting before selling parts on the black market."

James looked around themselves at the jars and vases exposed there. There was a jar filled with a green liquid and a bunch of eyes which seemed to follow them as they moved, there was a plant that tried to reach Rose's wildest curls with its tentacles, and there was an ampoule with a bubbling pink cream that sent a foul smell.

"Let's go," sighed James.

"Where? Another shop?" asked Rose, her voice almost dejected.

He shook his head. "No, it's clear that we're not going to achieve anything today," he replied, "let's go to the Leaky Cauldron to have a pint before we go home."

Rose looked at him in disbelief. "We still have an hour of duty," she reminded him. "If anything we've to go back to the Ministry."

"Teddy said that your ex-boyfriend and your brother are doing some office work," he told her, "are you sure you want to go back to the Ministry?"

She darkened and for a moment James was sure that she would have told him that yes, she would have endured the sight of her ex-boyfriend for an hour rather than finishing to work earlier. Instead she nodded. "Okay," she agreed, "let's go to the Leaky Cauldron."

"I'll buy," he told her as they walked towards the door.

"No, you won't."

"I insist," he told her with a smile, and with a rather loud sigh of defeat, Rose agreed to be treated to a pint of Butterbeer.

oooOOOooo

Hermione blinked as she stared at Ginny. "Oh," was all she could say to her. She didn't know if she were more surprised for the fact that Scorpius had asked for Harry and Ginny's permission to ask for their daughter's hand in marriage, or for Ginny's rather brusque reaction to it.

She shouldn't have felt surprised for either thing, really.

"I don't think he's going to come to dinner tonight," murmured Ginny, tapping her fingers on the cup of tea in front of her, "it's the second night in a row and… and if he doesn't…"

"Lily is going to ask you questions," Hermione finished for her.

Ginny nodded. "Or she's going to go to the Manor to find him," she sighed.

"And if Scorpius tells her what happened…"

"He's not going to do that," scolded Ginny, "he is an adult, he doesn't want to… he knows that…" Her voice trailed away, she didn't seem to know what Scorpius seemed to know.

Hermione smiled softly at her. "He is an adult now, isn't he?" she asked quietly.

Ginny looked at her and nodded. "Yes," she replied.

"And he really, _really_ loves Lily," she continued, "when Emeric left Rose, she came home and kept asking why she couldn't find someone who loved her like Scorpius loves Lily."

Ginny lowered her eyes to stare at her cold tea. "Yeah… and she loves him back…"

"Well, you know, if I were you, I'd be happy that you could leave your daughter in such good hands…"

"I am happy," protested Ginny, "it's just… it's too early, for crying out loud! She's only twenty-one…"

"Exactly," replied Hermione, "it's not like I was married at twenty-one or your mother already had Bill at that age." She smiled slightly. "Or Harry's mother was married and had Harry even before that…"

Ginny glared at her. "I didn't come here to listen to you saying that I'm wrong," she said pointedly.

"What did you come here for?" asked Hermione sweetly.

"To hear you saying that I'm right, that it's too early, and that Lily should live with me until she is eighty…"

Hermione nodded. "I think you are right, Ginny," she said in her most convincing tone of voice, which was not very convincing at all, "it's too early for your daughter to marry, Lily should live with you at Grimmauld Place until she is eighty…"

Ginny glared at her again, but Hermione just grinned at her, the red-headed woman would have seen it, sooner or later she would have seen that she could not find someone better than Scorpius for Lily.

oooOOOooo

Scorpius peered through the ajar door of the Ladybird Room. Lily was deep in conversation with the same tall woman who hadn't been particularly nice to her two nights before.

The woman looked particularly nervous, the bruise on her cheek seemed to have disappeared, even though Scorpius couldn't be sure for her hair was covering most of her face. She had her son in her arms and was replying hastily to Lily's questions. Scorpius held his breath to hear what they were saying. It was something about a teddy bear and then about little Alfie crying his heart's content that afternoon.

Scorpius pushed the door open and walked inside, trying to listen to the conversation.

"I know," she said quickly, "I couldn't find it. I looked everywhere for it, just couldn't."

"He really missed it," said Lily gently. "I'm sure it'll pop out…"

"Yes," replied the woman, "I'm afraid I have to go now though. Thank you." And without another word to Lily she brushed past Scorpius in a hurry and walked out of the door. He tried to turn to follow her with his eyes, but Lily's arms were already around his neck.

"Scorpius!" she cried, kissing him over and over again on his lips and cheeks. "I missed you so much last night. Are you alright? Did something happen? I was worrying!"

He brought his hands to her back and hugged her tightly, inhaling her scent. Merlin, he had missed her too. "Yes, yes," he croaked in her hair, "everything's alright."

She tilted her head back and looked into his eyes. "What happened?" she asked seriously.

He shook his head. "Nothing," he replied, "I swear. I just… I just need to stay at the Manor for a few days, that's all."

She looked at him, crestfallen. "What? Why?" she asked. "What do you mean? You… you are not coming to Grimmauld Place?"

He shook his head again, his hands rubbing her back soothingly. "Not for a while, no," he replied. It was going to be painful. Ever since Lily had graduated from Hogwarts, they had never been apart for more than twelve hours. No, he joked that he needed his daily fix of Lily with her and she giggled happily at that, but it was no joke, he did need her. Desperately.

She grabbed his Auror uniform, her brown eyes widening. "But why?" she whimpered. "Is it something I did?"

"Oh no, Lily, no," he assured her, lowering his head to kiss her.

"Then what is it?" she asked, ducking away from his lips. "Is it because… because I don't know how to cook?"

He blinked at that. "Beg your pardon?" What was she talking about?

"Because I wouldn't know how to take care of you?" she asked, dejection in her voice.

He furrowed his brow without understanding. "Lily, what are you talking about?" he asked back.

"Betsy said that she cooks for her fiancé," she told him. "I don't know how to cook, nor how to clean, nor do I do all those things that girls do for their boyfriends, is that… is that why?"

He chuckled slightly. "What? No," he reassured her, "absolutely no… I… my mother wouldn't even know which way to hold a palette knife. And you have Taffy, remember? She can do anything you want her to do."

Lily seemed to consider his words carefully, her pale forehead creasing with the lines of concentration. "Really?" she asked softly.

"Yes," he replied forcefully, "and I wouldn't want you to ruin your delicate hands in the kitchen, anyway…" He took one of her hands between his and rubbed it delicately before bringing it to his mouth to kiss it. The strong smell of crayons filled his nostrils.

"So what's wrong, though?" she asked. "I don't understand."

He took a deep breath. Of course she wouldn't let it go. He was burning with desire to tell her everything. To tell her about her mother and then tell her about the ring and ask her to marry him right there and then. And if she said yes, he would have scooped her up in his arms and brought her to the first church he could find in that secluded Welsh village and he would have married her that very instant.

Naturally, then her mother would have killed him, locked her in her room and thrown away the key and then she would have had a heart attack.

"Nothing's wrong," he replied calmly, "I just… I want to spend some time with my parents… my mother… that's all."

She bit her bottom lip. "You miss her," she told him.

"Yeah," he replied softly. He didn't. Well, he saw her almost every day, there was no reason for him to miss her.

"I understand," she told him seriously, "I would miss my mother too."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her comment. Of course, Mrs Potter was omnipresent. "Glad you understand," he whispered as he hugged her again.

"I'm going to miss you, though," she murmured against his neck.

"Same here," he told her, kissing the top of her head. Merlin, he was going to miss her. He didn't even know what could have happened now that would make her mother change her mind about the wedding. For all he knew, he was only going to see her before someone came to pick her up at work or in the weekends now…

"Am I interrupting something?"

Scorpius sighed loudly at Teddy's voice. Yes, he was, as always. He wanted to tell him just that, but Lily was already disentangling herself from his embrace and was going to say hello to his cousin.

"Are you here to take me home?" she asked him, standing on tiptoes and kissing his cheek.

Teddy nodded. "Unless Scorpius wants to do it…" he told her, looking at Scorpius.

He shook his head. "I'm expected at the Manor," he replied.

"Is everything alright?" asked his cousin, knitting his eyebrows together as he shifted the weight of his son from an arm to the other.

"He is missing his mother," replied Lily seriously, and Scorpius groaned and flushed at that.

Teddy tried unsuccessfully to stifle a chuckle. "Well, that's cute…" he said.

"Thank you," grunted Scorpius. "Lily, I'll try to swing by tomorrow, okay? Before Teddy comes."

She nodded as she went to him to kiss him goodbye. She tried to kiss him properly, but Scorpius felt Teddy's prying eyes on him and cupped her face and placed his lips on her forehead.

"I love you," she whispered.

"Love you back."

He let her go and nodded towards Teddy. "See you tomorrow," he told him with a sigh.

"Have a nice evening at the Manor," replied Teddy, but somehow there was no malice in his voice, as if he really meant that. Of course he did mean that, Teddy grew up with no mother nor father, he could have teased all he wanted but surely – deep down – he was just jealous that Scorpius could spend time with his parents if he wanted to.

"Thank you," he replied quietly. He glanced at Lily once more, smiling at her, and then he walked out. The cold air of Wales slapped his cheeks mercilessly as he made his way to the Apparition point and finally disappeared.

oooOOOooo

"Scorpius is not coming for dinner," announced Lily as she walked into the kitchen that evening, "and probably he isn't coming for quite a while."

Harry glanced at Ginny and she looked back at him, apprehension in her eyes.

"Oh," she said, "did he say why, Lily dear?"

She nodded as she sat on the chair next to Harry and leaned towards him waiting for a kiss on her head. "He misses his mother," she told them, "he wants to spend some time at the Manor."

Albus cocked an eyebrow and Harry saw Ginny glaring at him, but their son didn't seem to take notice of that. "Sweet," he grinned, "when you get married, Lils, you can all move in with your mothers in a big house…"

"Al!" snapped Ginny. "Be nice."

Lily beamed though, and Harry wondered if she was thinking about marring Scorpius and that was what made her so joyous.

Ginny seemed to feel the urge to change the subject. "Taffy made some meat pie and mashed potatoes, Lily," she told her with a smile, "hope you are hungry."

She nodded eagerly. "I'm famished," she replied, "Alfie didn't stop crying all day long. I skipped lunch to stay with him."

"Oh no, Lily, no," said Ginny seriously, "don't skip lunch, otherwise I'll have to come down to the school to make sure you eat properly."

Albus leaned in closer to his father. "She'd love that, wouldn't she?" he whispered not quietly enough, because Ginny glared at him once more.

"Where's James?" asked Lily. "Aren't we waiting for him?"

Harry looked at Ginny and she glanced back at him. "I don't know where he is," said Ginny. "Harry?"

"No idea," he replied. "Didn't he Floo Call?"

"Not here," replied Ginny.

"Shouldn't we go and look for him?" asked Lily worriedly. "Maybe he is hurt. Maybe he's been kidnapped." Her brown eyes seemed to widen on her fair face.

"I'm sure he's fine," said Ginny gently, "maybe he's just working late and didn't look at the time."

Lily fidgeted with her cutlery. "But Mum, you always say that I have to be on time, that you worry."

"And I do," she replied, "but James is an Auror. He knows how to take care of himself."

Lily lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together. "And I don't?"

"Of course you do, that's not—"

Luckily, at that moment, a green light lit the kitchen and they heard laughter, a crashing sound and more laughter coming from the living room.

"See?" said Ginny, looking at the door. "He's fine. He's here."

James stumbled through the door with Rose in tow. He had his arm around her waist and she was grabbing his robes. They were both rather flushed and their eyes seemed to be shinier and darker than usual.

"He's here alright," said Albus, cocking an eyebrow in their direction, "not quite sure about the fine part."

"Well," slurred James, "good evening, family…" He let out a small burp and Rose laughed.

"Evening, Potterssssss," said Rose, dragging the 's' for comic purposes, her tongue between her teeth and spittle falling from her mouth.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Are you two… are you two drunk?" he asked them slowly.

"No!" protested Rose. "Drunk? Us? How dare you Uncle Auror!"

Albus looked at his father. "Uncle Auror?" he mouthed.

"Ooops," she laughed, as James chuckled with her, "I meant Uncle Potter, Sir…"

Lily giggled in her seat and Harry looked at her and shook his head, but a small smile found its way to his lips.

"We were worried, James," scolded Ginny, "you could have Floo Called to let us know that you two were having fun…"

James rolled his eyes, but the motion seemed to make him sick and he had to blink a couple of times afterwards. "I'm not Lily, Mother," he slurred, "I don't need baby-sitting."

His statement was followed only by Rose's laughter. "Baby-sitting," she repeated, "weird word…"

"I don't need baby-sitting," murmured Lily, looking at Ginny. "I don't, right?"

James grabbed Harry's back of the chair and dragged his feet and Rose's to Lily. "Oh yes you do," he slurred in a baby voice, "because the bad man took you away when you were a little shrimp…"

"James!" screeched Ginny.

Harry's jaw set and he looked as Rose seemed to furrow her brow, probably the idea that that was something that he shouldn't have said was crossing her fogged brain.

"What?" asked James slowly. "That's why she can't do anything… she's still a babyyyy…"

"James," murmured Rose, touching his arm.

Lily raised her big eyes on her mother, tears already pooling at the corners. "I'm not a baby," she said, "right?"

"Yes, you—"

"James, that's enough," thundered Harry. "You are drunk, go get a Sobering Potion from the bathroom and don't come back here until you've cleared your head."

"I am not…" The words died in his throat as his complexion turned a bit green and he had to hurry towards the sink to throw up. The sour smell of vomit filling the kitchen.

Albus groaned. "Oh, gross James," he complained. "Get out…"

Rose seemed to turn a bit green herself as the smell reached her nostrils.

"Rose, get yourself to the loo before you join your Auror partner there," ordered Harry in his I'm-the-Head-Auror-and-you-did-something-wrong voice.

She hurried, bumping in the door frame on her way out.

"And you, get out of my sight for tonight," thundered Harry to his first born. "Go back to your flat and come to see me tomorrow morning in my office."

James raised his pale face to look at him through cloudy eyes. "Dad…"

"Go," he said with finality. He muttered a spell and cleaned the sink with a flick of his wand.

James nodded slightly as he dragged his legs towards the door and into the living room. The kitchen plummeted in a deafening silence, broken only by Ginny fiddling about with the plates and the meat pies.

"See?" she finally said, her voice nervous. "Nothing to worry about, he was just having questionable fun with Rose…" She placed the meat pie in front of Lily, but their daughter didn't look at her nor thanked her as she used to do.

"I'm not hungry," she said instead.

"But you just said—"

"I changed my mind."

Ginny swallowed. "No, no, no, Lily, you have to eat, that's not healthy and you even skipped lunch, that's not… that's not good…"

"You can't tell me what to do," she said, raising her eyes to finally look at her mother.

Ginny's expression hardened. "Yes, I can," she replied, "I'm your mother."

"I'm not a baby!"

"I never said you were," pointed out Ginny feebly. "But you are hungry, and Taffy worked all day to make the meat pies. You… you are not being polite…"

Lily's bottom lip quivered. "That's what Nott always told me," she murmured, "to be polite."

Ginny collapsed on the chair, eyes wide. "I… I didn't mean to…"

"Can I be excused?"

"No," snapped Ginny. "You have to eat."

Lily's plate broke in two with a loud crack and everybody, even Lily, seemed to startle. She looked at the plate and the half-ruined meat pie almost frantically. "I'm sorry," she murmured anxiously, trying without succeeding to put the two pieces back together. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay, Lily," said Harry gently, "you are tired. You said you had a long day with the children crying… don't worry."

She nodded and lowered her eyes, suddenly meek.

"You… you don't have to eat if you don't want to…" whispered Ginny.

"I'm… I'm hungry," she murmured back, picking up her fork to start to eat.

"Wait, dear," said Harry. "_Reparo_."

"Thank you, Dad," she whispered as the plate pieced itself together.

Albus took a deep breath. "Can I have some meat pie too?" he asked softly.

"Sure, Al, yes dear," replied Ginny, "here."

"Thank you, Mum," he said. Then he looked at his sister. "Hey Lils, what do you think about going to a party this Saturday?"

"A party?" asked Ginny, her voice high pitched as she looked at Albus with eyes sparkling with too many emotions for one night.

Albus nodded nonchalantly. "Yes, I saw Roxy today and—"

"You saw Roxy?" asked Harry with a sigh. "James got drunk and you went to see your cousin, is any of my sons working in these days? Or is it only my daughter?" He looked at Lily, and she smiled at him, but she still seemed slightly upset from the incident with the plate.

"I was working, Dad," he replied indignantly.

"Working in your Uncle George's shop?"

"She wasn't at the shop," he told him, "she was at the radio. Visiting Malcolm."

"Lee Jordan's son?" asked Ginny, poking her meat pie without eating it.

"They're kind of an item now," said Albus, "anyway, she said that she finally managed to move all her stuff into her new flat and she's throwing a house warming party this weekend… She invited us to go."

"Who's us?" asked Ginny slowly.

Albus shrugged a shoulder. "I was there with Scorpius, she invited the two of us," he told her, "told me that James and Rose already know, and to tell Hugo. Told Scorpius to bring Lily… So, you want to go, Lils?"

"But Saturday is our mother-daughter—"

"Yes!" she said, cutting off her mother and looking at Harry. "Please, Dad, can I go?"

Harry smiled at her, but before he answered he glanced at Ginny. She was staring back at him, gnawing at her bottom lip anxiously.

"I don't see why not," he replied, looking back at Lily.

She beamed at him as she threw her arms around his neck to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Dad! Thank you!"

"Well, Roxanne is quite rude not to invite us as well," said Ginny sharply, finally cutting through the meat pie with her fork.

Albus snorted. "How are we supposed to have fun if she invites old people like you, Mum," he chuckled. "I plan to get drunk."

"No," snapped Ginny. "You plan to look after Lily."

"Let Scorpius do that," sighed Albus, "he is her boyfriend." He brought a forkful of pie to his mouth and looked at his mother. "And look after her for what? It's just us cousins and a few of Roxy's friends."

"And I can take care of myself," pointed out Lily.

"Of course," replied Ginny sharply, putting down her fork. "I'm sorry, I don't feel too well, I think I need to lie down." She stood up and, without looking at her children nor her husband, she walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Albus sighed loudly, but pushed another bite of meat pie in his mouth and chewed noisily on it. Lily, on the other hand, looked as if she was on the verge of tears as she poked her meat pie just like her mother had done.

"Lily," said Harry softly, "eat, darling. You had a long day."

"But Mummy…"

"Mummy is going to be alright. I'll talk to her… you eat, okay?" Harry stood up and caressed Lily's head as he stepped towards the door. He walked past the open door of the loo and noticed that Rose had fallen asleep with her head against the toilet. He sighed as he walked in there to pick her up.

She stirred gently against his chest and mumbled something about James being an idiot, but didn't wake up. He laid her down on the couch and covered her with a blanket. Then he turned towards the stairs and took a deep breath as he started to walk up the steps to his and Ginny's room.

oooOOOooo

Ginny slipped the buttons of her shirt into their holes one after the other. Her hands were shaking, her sight was blurred with unshed tears.

They had spent the first few years since Lily's return in pure bliss, her and her daughter. Always together, even at Hogwarts, where Ginny had taught Quidditch. Spending time together, sleeping in the same bed, talking for hours…

And now… now Lily was growing apart from her. Lily was feeling the urge to have her own life. Lily didn't want her mother to protect her anymore.

And the most rational part of Ginny knew that it was right, that that should have happened sooner or later, that it only meant that her daughter was healthy and wanted what every young lady wanted. But her heart told a different story. Her heart didn't want to let her go.

There was a soft knock on the door and Ginny hastily brought her hands to wipe away the tears. She closed her shirt tight around herself and choked out a, "Come in."

The door was pushed open and Harry walked inside, he looked at Ginny, but she couldn't hold his stare and had to lower her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked her softly.

She nodded, but didn't reply.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She swallowed, raising her chin to look at Harry. "Talk about what?" she asked. "About my daughter wanting to have her own life away from me?"

Harry crossed his arms on his chest. "Ginny, I know it's going to be hard," he told her, "but we can't keep her here forever. She is not a little girl anymore."

"She's never been a little girl, Harry," she replied quietly, "she doesn't know what it means to be a little girl. Is it a crime if I want her to… I just… I just want her to…" She didn't know. Saying that she wanted her to never leave her and be forever her baby sounded too egoistic, even though it was the truth.

"Ginny—"

The door opened slightly, causing Harry and Ginny to turn to look at it, Harry's words died in his throat.

"Mummy?" said Lily, her voice small and almost whiny.

Ginny swallowed. "Yes, Lily?"

"Would you sleep with me tonight, please?" She bit her bottom lip and looked at her almost fretfully, her hand fidgeting with the hem of her sweater.

Ginny didn't look at Harry. She heard Scorpius' words from the night before. Lily didn't want to sleep with her, Lily just did it because she knew that _Ginny_ wanted her to.

She pushed them at the back of her head.

_Scorpius didn't know anything_.

"Of course, Lily," she replied, smiling warmly. "Of course I'll sleep with you tonight." She went to her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Of course," she repeated, "Mummy is here, you don't worry about anything."

And when Lily hugged her back, Ginny felt her heart flutter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes: **Thank you for all the lovely feedback (that review from a guest saying, "You're so fucking amazing." made my day, my week, my month, my year...) I really like this chapter, because there's Neville (and I love Neville), and there's the last scene there that I really, really like. Hmm.. do I sound extremely conceited when I write these things? Sorry for that! I just like how the plot developed in this story.. =) Happy reading! Love you loads!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Rose's cheeks were on fire. She wanted to cry, and for the first time since Emeric dumped her, she wanted to cry for something different than her broken heart.

She felt embarrassed and angry. Embarrassed for the way she had behaved the night before. Angry with James for having invited her out and got both of them drunk. Angry for the things he had said to Lily.

And now that she was sitting next to James in the eerie silence of her uncle's office, waiting for the Head Auror and his Deputy to come in and haul them over the coals, she was almost shaking in anticipation of how awful that would have been.

"Rose…"

"I told you to shut up, James," she hissed, "I don't want to hear another word about last night."

"But—"

"Zip it."

The door opened and Uncle Harry, followed closely by Rose's father, walked in there with a severe expression over his face.

Rose was pretty sure that if the night before they had waltzed in the Potters' kitchen completely pissed and laughing and maybe falling asleep with their heads on the plates, Uncle Harry would have just laughed at them and playfully scowled that they shouldn't have gotten drunk.

But James had said those things… and Lily and Auntie Ginny had looked so upset… and Rose had understood that he was going too far even though she could barely understand what was going on.

Rose stood up at once and looked at Uncle Harry with the most pleading eyes she could muster. "I'm sorry, Uncle Harry," she whined, "I didn't mean to get drunk and… come to Grimmauld Place in that state and… and tell Lily those things and… and…"

"Auror Weasley," Uncle Harry cut her off brusquely. "Shut up and sit down." He walked to his desk and sat behind it, while Rose's father just stood near him, his arms folded across his chest as he stared seriously from his daughter to his godson.

Rose sat back down, her eyes low and a contrite expression over her face.

"Dad, I'm so—"

"You shut up too," Uncle Harry reprimanded James curtly. "First, I'll talk and you listen carefully."

Rose nodded, without raising her eyes to look at her uncle nor at her father and she could see James nodding too, out of the corner of her eye.

"Last night you two behaved like children," he told them sharply, "not only you got drunk while you should have been on duty – and yes, I asked Hannah and she saw the two of you at the Leaky Cauldron yesterday afternoon – but you had the cheek to come to my house and talk to Lily that way. Say those things to her when she is already struggling so much with her mother and work and Scorpius."

"I'm so—"

"Did I say you could speak, James?" asked Uncle Harry sharply.

He shook his head.

Uncle Harry nodded. "Right," he said, "now, even though I can't punish you for your reckless behaviour because you are both of age, I can take disciplinary measures because you used the time you should have spent working getting drunk."

"Dad, can I say something?" asked James, and Rose stared as he looked resolutely at his father.

"No, James, I'll tell you when you can speak."

"But I just want to say that I dragged Rose to the Leaky Cauldron and bought her the drinks and… it's all my fault, I swear," he said quickly, "she didn't want to come, it's all my fault, I swear."

Rose lowered her eyes again. She felt the urge to correct him, to tell Uncle Harry that he hadn't dragged her anywhere at all, that she hadn't needed that much convincing. But somehow she felt as if the words were trapped in her throat.

"Oh I'm sure Rose has her fair share of guilt, James," said her father calmly.

Rose nodded, glad to have been spared to talk.

"But she didn't—"

"Enough, James," said Uncle Harry. "Now listen to me, both of you. You are going to be relegated to do office work for two months."

James groaned loudly, but Uncle Harry's glare quietened him instantly.

"The case you were following will be passed on to Hugo and Emeric and you will tidy up the archive starting from today," he told them. "And you'll work even on the weekends if necessary. Except for this Saturday night."

Rose furrowed her brow as she looked at Uncle Harry and at her father. They were both looking quite seriously at them, but Uncle Harry seemed slightly worried.

"Saturday night?" asked Rose softly.

Uncle Harry nodded. "You are going to Roxanne's housewarming party as undercover Aurors," he told them, "and keep an eye on Lily."

"Keep an eye on Lily?" asked James, furrowing his brow.

Uncle Harry took a deep breath before replying, "Yes, your mother doesn't want her to go, but if she knows that you are going to be there and protect her, she'll feel better about the whole ordeal."

James and Rose exchanged a confused glance. "What about Scorpius?" asked James. "Surely he's going to be there and Mum has always trusted him… and wouldn't Lily be suspicious if we were to follow her around?"

Rose couldn't believe that he would ask that. Honestly, the real question was another one. "Protect her from what, Uncle Harry?" she asked sensibly.

Uncle Harry shook his head wearily. "Just keep an eye out for her," he replied, "and Scorpius will be there too, I hope and—"

"Is there something wrong with him?" asked Rose, he hadn't been at Grimmauld Place the night before nor the night before that. Rose couldn't remember an evening ever since Lily had finished Hogwarts that he wouldn't show up at her Uncle's house to be with her. "Did he and Lily have a row or something?"

"Oh dear Merlin, no," murmured Uncle Harry. "Everything is fine between them. You just keep an eye out for her at the party. That's all." He darkened slightly and straightened his back. "Now off you go to see Teddy," he added, "ask him where to start in the archive."

Rose nodded and stood up, James seemed to wanting to reply something, maybe to plead a bit longer about their current situation. He was almost twenty-five after all, and they had just been treated like children by their parents. Instead he desisted almost immediately and stood up and followed Rose outside the office. The door closed gently at their backs.

"Thank you," murmured Rose quickly as they were finally alone.

He shook his head. "I just told them the truth," he replied quietly, "you didn't want to come. I should have never… it was childish, my father is right."

She smiled softly at him. "No, it's okay, we… we both were silly…"

He glanced at her askew. "Are you mad at me?" he asked her. "Because I don't want you to be. I mean… if I can do anything to… you know, to make you forgive me… I mean…"

Rose nodded. "Well, we're going to the party, right?" She stopped dead and sighed. "I mean, it's not as if we've any other choice now, right?"

"Why, you didn't want to go?" he asked with a frown. "I thought you wanted to go…"

"Yes, yes," she replied, "I think a party would do me good… only…"

"Yes?"

"You know… in case Emeric is invited too… you wouldn't help me… I don't know, maybe you can introduce to some of your friends… someone cute… you know someone I could snog in front of my ex-boyfriend?" she asked, trying to smile at him.

James looked at her a bit taken aback. "And make Emeric jealous?" he asked her. "Is that what you're trying to do?"

She nodded sheepishly.

He looked at her and cocked an eyebrow, apparently impressed. "Well, well, look at Miss Perfection concocting a revenge on her ex-boyfriend," he smirked. "I think my friend Josh just broke up with his girlfriend too and he was moping about it the other day. I'll see if there's any matchmaking that I can do…"

"No, no," she replied hastily, "no matchmaking. Just a meaningless snog…"

His smirk grew wider. "Alright," he replied, winking as if he expected. "And Emeric said you're not wild enough…"

Rose looked away, blushing a little. "Okay, we should probably go and see Teddy now," she told him, starting to walk towards their cousin's office. "I mean, the sooner we start to work in the archive the better…"

"Definitely."

"I also want to go and see Lily," added Rose softly, "just to tell her that I'm sorry for last night."

"You didn't do anything, Rose," said James forcefully, "I will apologise to her."

She shook her head. "No, I want to say that I'm sorry too," she told him, "I was laughing when you said those things. I think… I don't remember that well…"

He nodded. "Okay, we'll tell her tonight, okay?"

"Yes," she replied. "Now, let's go before your father comes out of his office and starts scolding us again."

oooOOOooo

Professor Neville Longbottom had always been one of Albus' favourite teachers. He was always laughing, even at the smallest things, and he always had homemade biscuits or sweets in his pockets. Not to mention that he was a friend of his parents and the husband of the woman who had witnessed his first binge.

Scorpius liked him too. Not that he would ever admit that – _What? Longbottom? The Herbology teacher? How could I like him? He looks like a big fluffy teddy bear, and we don't like teddy bears in my cold and damp Manor_… Not that Scorpius had ever said anything like that, but surely that was what went through his mind at the mention of Neville – but he definitely did like him. Neville had always treated Scorpius right anyway, and Albus' father had swelled with pride for his friend when Albus had gotten back for Christmas during his first year at Hogwarts and told him that Neville didn't seem to be any meaner than he usually was with the son of Draco Malfoy.

And now, they were sitting in his office at Hogwarts, drinking tea and eating biscuits made by Hannah and chatting the afternoon away as if they were just visiting a friend.

Scorpius did look moderately annoyed to be _wasting_ the afternoon as he had whispered angrily at Albus, but he seemed to be enjoying the biscuits since he was already on his fifth one.

"Tilden Toots?" asked Neville as they finally managed to get on the subject after a good half an hour of pleasantries. "Course I knew him, his death was a great a loss for the Herbology community. Especially after, you know…" He sighed and his eyes shone a little with tears.

"Herbology community?" asked Scorpius, furrowing his brow.

Neville nodded patiently. "Yes," he replied, "it's quite a large community. Especially if you count Luna and Rolf and me…"

"And?"

"And there was Tilden and… Pomona…"

"Pomona Sprout?" asked Albus suddenly. What did he mean with _there was_? She was alive and well, at least to Albus' knowledge.

Neville nodded. "She's gone, Albus," he murmured, "didn't you know?"

Albus' jaw dropped. "She died? No, I didn't know! Dad never—"

"Oh, she didn't die, you silly boy," Neville cut him off, "she is gone."

"Gone where?" asked Scorpius.

"St Mungo's," sighed Neville, "she's gone. Lost it completely." He seemed to grow sad at the thought. Well, his own parents were still at St Mungo's themselves, and Albus' father had told him that they had lost it too. Only that it was because they had been tortured with the Cruciatus Curse by Draco Malfoy's Aunt. Albus remembered what Scorpius had told him about the playroom, about the fact that Nott had wanted to use the Cruciatus Curse on Lily, and he shuddered. If his father hadn't arrived that night and if Scorpius hadn't thrown himself in front of Lily… he didn't want to think about it…

Albus sipped his tea thoughtfully. "Well, she was old, wasn't she?"

"It's not because she was old," replied Neville, "she ingested a large quantity of scurvy-grass while she was studying plants up in the Highlands. A quite big quantity apparently, and lost it completely…"

"She did what?" asked Scorpius, narrowing his eyes.

Neville nodded. "Ingested some scurvy-grass," he repeated, "probably she had mistaken it for chamomile. I mean a little scurvy-grass has never hurt anybody, but she must have gotten quite a bit… I don't know how she couldn't recognise it. Her eyesight must have gotten worse with time and she was up there all alone in Scotland to—"

"What was she doing in Scotland again?" asked Albus quickly. Once again, he felt as if something was quite not right there and from the way Scorpius had stopped munching on the biscuits and stared attentively at Neville, he seemed to think just about the same thing.

Neville shook his head. "Ever since she resigned from Hogwarts, she had travelled here and there, doing some research, discovering a new plant every now and then. Always so enthusiastic…"

"And did something happen? Did she find something? Did she come into contact with someone who—"

"Hey," Neville cut him off, "what are you trying to say, Scorpius? It was clearly an accident."

"It might clearly not be," replied Scorpius dryly. "Toots drank something by mistake as well. And his wife said that he was nervous and did something that he usually wouldn't do."

"Exactly," agreed Albus enthusiastically, "and they were both Herbologists. Do you know if they were working on something together, Neville?"

"I don't even think that they knew each other," replied Neville thoughtfully. "And I'm not sure Tilden was working on something, really… he liked to read about plants and stuff, but he mostly worked in his garden. The best way to take care of daffodils and irises, the quickest way to harvest Dirigible Plums without letting them float away." He looked at Scorpius and smiled. "He had some beautiful lilies if you are interested for Valentine's Day, Scorpius."

Scorpius flushed a deep magenta colour as he muttered something that sounded like, "Valentine's Day is sorted, thank you very much."

Neville grinned good-naturedly at him.

"And do you know if they were reading something… I don't know, some book about… hem… _dangerous_ plants? Toots' wife said that a book was missing from her husband's library," said Albus.

Neville shook his head. "Not a clue, Albus," he replied, sighing. "I'm sorry."

Albus shook his head as well. "No problem," he replied, slightly dejected. Then something crossed his mind. "We'll send you two Aurors for your protection, Neville," he said seriously.

Neville looked at him slightly bewildered. "What? I hardly think that's necessary, Albus," he told him, "Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain. And I was an Auror back in the days, remember?"

Albus wanted to point out that he was an Auror before he grew that belly of his, but that wouldn't have been very nice. He glanced at Scorpius to see if he was going to say anything of the sort and scowl him into silence, but he didn't need to worry. Scorpius looked seriously at Neville, his face deep in concentration as if he was starting to believe that there was something there as well.

"Alright," said Albus in the end, "I think we should go now. But thank you for your help, Neville and be sure to tell us in case something suspicious happens in the world of Herbology or if someone shady contacts you, please."

"Will do," replied Neville, standing up.

Scorpius stood up too and so did Albus. The blond man shook Neville's hand, while the dark-haired wizard hugged him in the most manly way he could muster.

"Oh," exclaimed Neville as they walked towards the door. "How's Lily, lads? I heard she is the most patient teacher they've ever had at Miss Mitzy's."

Albus expected Scorpius to reply with praises and his usual rigmarole about how perfect she was in everything she did, instead he kept quiet and seemed to be waiting for Albus to reply.

"Is everything alright with her, right?" asked Neville slightly anxiously now.

"Yes, yes," Albus hurried to reply, "just the usual ups and downs with Mum, that's all. She agreed to let her go a party this Saturday."

The surprise on Neville's face let him know exactly how much he was aware of his mother's suffocating behaviour with his little sister. "Well, that's good," he said, "say hi to her from me, okay?"

"Will do," replied Albus, opening the door. "See you soon, Neville."

"Have a good evening," Scorpius told him quietly.

"Yes, yes," said Neville, grinning, "you too, boys. You too."

The door closed at their backs and before Albus could even take a step towards the Great Hall, Scorpius' hand was on his upper arm. "What do you mean that she's going to a party this Saturday?" he asked him dryly.

Albus furrowed his brow. "You too, remember? Roxy's housewarming party, she invited you yesterday," he pointed out matter-of-factly.

Scorpius darkened. "I didn't think… I thought your mother wouldn't have let her go… I…"

Albus rolled his eyes as he started walking in the corridor and Scorpius' fingers released his arm. "Yes, my mother was being slightly irrational," he told him quietly, "as always. But my father said she could go, and Lily was ecstatic." He cocked an eyebrow at Scorpius. "Are you coming?"

Scorpius pressed his lips tightly together. "Of course," he replied gruffly, "if Lily is going then I'm going too."

Albus chuckled. "Aren't you two adorable?" Then something crossed his brain. "Hey, what are you doing on Valentine's Day?"

The blond man shook his head. "I don't know."

"You just said it was sorted," pointed out Albus.

Scorpius took a deep breath as they stepped on a moving staircase and waited to be transported to the other side. "It was, kind of… but now I don't know…"

"What? Why? What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing, Albus, Merlin! Just mind your own business for once," he grunted, causing some portraits to scowl at them. He took a deep breath and added, "Listen, we should talk to your father about Professor Longbottom. We need to send some Aurors for his protection…"

It was not if Albus hadn't noticed the change of subject. He had, but the fact that finally Scorpius was agreeing that there was something shady with Toots' death was ten times more important to Albus than to pester his Auror partner about his upcoming corny evening with his sister.

"Yes," replied Albus, "and we should arrange a meeting with Luna and Rolf to ask about any shady business concerning… well, plants…" He looked at him and finally grinned. "Are you convinced that there's something going on here? Something serious?"

Scorpius looked away from him as they walked past the Great Hall and towards the Great Oak Door that led outside. Pupils were looking at them and pointing and whispering. They had recognised the uniforms and were probably wondering what two Aurors were doing at school.

"So?" Albus pushed for an answer, for an occasion to gloat, really.

"Yes," snapped Scorpius, "yes, there's something going on here, happy?"

Albus smiled as they walked outside and into the cold February air. "Almost," he said. "I told you so," he added with a grin. "There, now I'm happy."

oooOOOooo

In all fairness to Emeric Zabini, he looked just as equally embarrassed to be working with his ex-girlfriend's brother as Hugo felt to work with him.

The two maintained a cold politeness throughout their workday, exchanging a bare greeting in the morning and one in the evening and only glancing at each other when a stack of papers would fall or when they needed a new ink bottle. They never talked about Rose, and they never talked in general.

Well, that was up until now, when Teddy told them that they would have had to work on the unicorn case while Rose and James were relegated to the archive for surely some kind of punishment.

And despite the fact that Hugo was looking forward to doing some actual work, he wasn't looking forward to having to talk and collaborate with Emeric.

"Unicorns," sighed Emeric as he stared at the folder. "They should have assigned it to the Finnigan twins, I'm sure they are still… able to attract unicorns…" His brown cheeks flushed slightly and Hugo raised an eyebrow at his comment.

One of the twins surely wasn't, but Emeric didn't need to know that.

"They are already dead," pointed out Hugo. "The unicorns, I mean, we don't need to attract them."

Emeric didn't look at him as he kept studying Rose's and James' notes. "I don't understand though," he said, "they found three slain unicorns; horns, fur and blood gone; they went into each and every single one of Knockturn Alley's dodgiest shops to see if they were on the black market yet; they didn't find anything and… and now what are we supposed to do?" He finally looked up at Hugo, eyebrows high on his forehead.

"Well, I thought we could have looked in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, you know," replied Hugo, "paces like Madam Primpernelle's or Ollivander's or—"

"Yes, sure," snorted Emeric, "come on, be serious."

"I am," replied Hugo dryly. "They've already searched Knockturn Alley, what if whoever slain those unicorns was more cunning than that? What if they knew that we would have searched those places first?"

"What if they didn't want to sell those things at all?" asked Emeric back. "What if they wanted to keep them for themselves."

Hugo crossed his arms on his chest, considering his words. "To do what?" he asked. "I mean, if it was for some kind of dark potion, they would have only got the piece that they needed and wouldn't have killed three unicorns but just the one, if it was for something legal they would have probably bought the parts in a shop."

"Maybe they were too expensive," pointed out Emeric, "maybe these people are poor…"

"They slew three unicorns and collected the blood," Hugo reminded him, "they weren't simply looking for ingredients for potions."

"And they sold the blood in Diagon Alley, you think?" questioned Emeric visibly unconvinced.

Hugo sighed. "Well, what I think is that we shouldn't leave anything unchecked," he replied seriously, "we should take everything into consideration, even the most improbable routes."

"Alright," replied Emeric, "since I don't have any other idea, we'll have a look at all the Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade shops that sell these kinds of things. Not that I think we'll find anything, mind you."

Hugo nodded and sighed. He didn't think that either.

"Hem… Hugo…" murmured Emeric.

"Yeah?"

"How's… how's Rose?" he asked, lowering his eyes.

Hugo felt his cheeks burning with contempt. "Perfectly fine," he replied icily, "she is going to Roxanne's party this Saturday."

"Oh," murmured Emeric. "I might too, you know… Mary is going so—"

"Who's Mary?" snapped Hugo much more heatedly than he had intended. He had heard about Margaret, who was this Mary?

Emeric shrugged a shoulder. "Well, the girl I'm kind of seeing in these days," he muttered, "she's friends with Roxanne and was invited and she invited me, so…"

"Tell her that your ex-girlfriend is going," hissed Hugo, "surely she won't want to go then."

"But I want to go," protested Emeric.

"Well, you shouldn't! Rose is there."

"You said she was perfectly fine," pointed out Emeric.

Hugo huffed, "She is. It's just going to be awkward for you and your girlfriend to be at the same party as your ex-girlfriend."

"She's not exactly my girlfriend," murmured Emeric, "she's a bit too chatty for my liking and she sure as hell can't put two and two together, but she… she has a nice neck… and she… you know she is quite good at—"

Hugo's mouth opened wide. "I don't want to hear!" he snapped. "You left my sister for her, I don't—"

"I didn't!" snapped Emeric back. "And I was going to say that she is good at cooking."

Hugo shook his head. "What the heck is your problem?" He raised a hand. "You know what? I don't want to know. You are out of your mind for dumping someone like my sister. She will surely find someone else who is ten million times better than you before you can say Mischief Managed."

Emeric didn't seem able to find anything to say to him and Hugo nodded satisfied before turning on his heels and marching out of the office without a second thought back.

oooOOOooo

The children seemed to be particularly excited that day. And Lily loved it when they were so happy and full of life, even though she had to spend most of the time trying to untangle little arms from around her neck or legs, and quiet down her students with a lot of patience and a pocket full of sweets to use as prizes for when they listened to her without complaining too much.

And even though now she was knackered and daydreamed of her bed and of cuddling next to Scorpius, she was happy to have had a full day that had helped her forget the row she had had with her mother and the things that James had said to her the night before. Not to mention the incident with the plate… She had been sure that the days when she couldn't control her magic were well behind her – nothing good had ever come out of her accidental magic, every time she had a burst of emotions that she couldn't control she had caused only sufferance and pain and every time she had almost killed someone.

Of course, when she had almost killed Nott she had also saved herself, Dad and Scorpius and probably Albus as well, all in one go, but still… the thought that she might have killed him scared her to death. She was not that kind of person, she was not a murderer.

"Lily, look," cried Martha from her little desk, turning to look at her, "look!" The little blond girl raised her drawing and waved it in the air to attract Lily's attention. She smiled at the child and went to crouch right next to Martha to see the colourful drawing she had painted.

"Oh that's so pretty, Martha," she cooed her, "this is you." She pointed to a short, baby-looking figure. "And these are Mummy and Daddy, aren't they?"

Martha nodded seriously, ecstatic that Lily would take her drawing into serious consideration. "And this you!" she added, pointing towards a lanky figure with a red mane of hair and a line that went from ear to ear for a smile.

Lily's smile matched that of the drawing. "I'm so pretty," she told her, "you made me prettier than I am, Martha."

The girl shook her head solemnly. "No, no," she told her seriously, "you pretty."

Lily hugged her tightly and gave her a loud smacking kiss on her cheek. "Aww, you're pretty too, Martha."

The girl giggled in her arms and Lily beamed at her, but soon there was a pair of thin, little arms wrapping around her neck and demanding attention.

She turned to look at a small, three-year-old boy with bright green eyes. "Kiss," he demanded, showing her his cheek.

"Do you want a kiss too, Mark?" asked Lily sweetly. "Here you go." She kissed the little boy's cheek and he grabbed her head and kissed her own cheek in response, leaving a wet stamp of saliva where his young lips had touched her skin. Then he jumped away all happy and returned to his little desk to colour his drawing.

Lily stood up and started pacing for the classroom. It was almost time for them to start putting things away, the parents would arrive soon to pick them up and she hoped that Scorpius would manage to swing by as he had promised. She was glad that he would spend some time with his mother as he had told her he wanted to do, but she missed him so much she just wanted to—

Lily's eyes widened. Of course! She could go to the Manor herself! To surprise Scorpius! She would have dinner with his family and spend the night there, just as if they had been at Grimmauld Place, but… they were at the Manor. After all, she hadn't seen Scorpius' parents in a while… she missed them herself, really… even Scorpius' father with whom she had never talked too much, now that she thought about it… Scorpius never let her talk to him, especially not alone. She couldn't understand why, though, he was a perfectly nice man in her opinion. And he had the Crups, and one of the Crups was Lily's, she wondered if the pup still remembered her after all that time…

"Lily," called Remus, tugging at her pinafore, "up!" He stretched his arms towards her and she grabbed him under his armpits to take him in her arms.

"Oh, Remus," she told him, touching his nose with her fingertip, "you are getting heavy, you know. What does Mummy give you to eat?"

"Chocolate!" he exclaimed, grinning.

"Chocolate?" asked Lily, shaking her head amusedly. "Are you sure she doesn't give you vegetables?"

His hair turned green, just like a leaf of lettuce. "No!" he protested, bringing his chubby arms to his head to cover his face in disgust. "Chocolate!"

"Just chocolate?" she giggled.

He shook his head. "Chocolate, sweets, chips…"

"Well, don't we know everything about unhealthy food…"

There was a subtle knock on the door, and then Betsy's head peered inside. "Lily, the parents are coming, Miss Mitzy asked me to remind to give the permission slips for the outing."

"Thank you, Betsy," replied Lily.

Betsy nodded and smiled and then closed the door again, going probably to remind some other teacher to do just that. "Alright, let's start putting our things away, children—come on, Remus, Daddy is coming to pick us up soon, we better hurry."

Remus rushed to his backpack as soon as his little feet were once again on the floor and now there were screams and noises of chairs that moved and children that were looking for their things and stuffing their crayons and papers into their schoolbags with careless hurry.

"Jacqueline, don't ruin your drawing, I'm sure Mummy and Daddy will want to see how pretty it is. Mark, no, don't push John, he didn't mean to take your yellow crayon. Alfie, come on, dear, we need to put the things away for when Mummy comes."

She looked at the mayhem of pushed around chairs and toys on the floor and children running and laughing and screaming before she turned to her desk to grab the permission slips to hand out to the parents. She really hoped that they would all agree to let their children go. The outing would have been tremendously interesting, and not to mention that she would have spent the day with Scorpius and Albus and most of her family, really. And she was really looking forward to that too.

There was a knock on the door and to her surprise, when she went to open it to let the first parent in, she found herself in front of Teddy.

"Hello Lils," he grinned at her, pulling her in a one-armed hug as Remus took a run-up to jump on him, his little foot kicking Lily's side as he did.

"Remus!" scolded Teddy, grabbing his son and having to let Lily go. "You are a little earthquake! Look what you did! Apologise to Lily for kicking her."

Lily smiled as she brought a hand to her side to massage her hip. She was more than used to carefree kicks of excitable children by now. "It's okay, Teddy," she told him, "it doesn't even hurt." She stood on tiptoes and kissed Remus on his nose to show him that everything was alright. "Are you here to pick me up?" she asked as she looked at Teddy and bit her bottom lip. "Because it's a bit early, the children are all still here and I have to wait until the last one is gone…"

Teddy shook his head. "James and Rose insisted to pick you up," he told her gently, "they mentioned something about the two of them being idiots or something…"

Lily lowered her eyes and nodded. "Yes," she murmured. She didn't look forward to talking to them, she was not angry, she knew that they had been drunk the night before, but their words – well, James' really – still stung. "Is Scorpius coming to say hi?" she asked anxiously.

Teddy shrugged a shoulder. "No clue, Lils," he replied, "he is not a very talkative young man."

"That's not true," she pointed out with a dreamy smile, "sometimes we talk all night long…"

"Well, he's not very talkative with the whole world… except you, Lils," told her Teddy with a sigh. "But I'm sure he'll come to say hi to his girlfriend…"

She smiled at Teddy. "Thank you," she told him, before taking a slip from the pile she had in her hands. "Here, you or Vicky have to sign this, Teddy. It's for the outing at the Ministry we're going to have next week."

Teddy grabbed the paper and skimmed through it. "An outing to the Ministry?" he sighed. "Does that mean that you are bringing my little adorable son to me for the whole day?"

Lily giggled and nodded. "Yes, we are all very excited," she told him gently.

"I bet you are, Lils," replied Teddy, folding the slip and pocketing it.

"You can also take him home from the Ministry, he doesn't have to come back here if that's more convenient for you," Lily added.

"Perfect," he replied, "I'll make sure to bring the slip back tomorrow."

"Thank you, Teddy," she smiled warmly, "would you like to know what he ate today?"

"Nah, I trust you."

"And what he did today? We coloured and then we read the _Tale of the Three Brothers _from_ The Tales of Beedle the Bard_, and then he took a nap and he was very good, only woke up once and—"

"How do you do it, Lily?" asked Teddy with a sigh. "I can barely remember what I had for lunch today and you remember everything, every time."

Lily smiled and flushed slightly, lowering her eyes. "I don't know how I do it," she told him for what was probably the umpteenth time. "I just do it…"

"Right, okay," he murmured, "I better go, otherwise Vicky will start wondering where I am…"

Lily stood on tiptoes to kiss him again. "Bye Remus," she added to the child who claimed another kiss from his teacher.

"See you tomorrow, Lils." Teddy waved goodbye before slipping out of the door with his son in his arms.

Then the parents started to arrive and Lily had to run from one person to the other to keep them up to date with what had happened that day, how much their sons had eaten, what they had eaten, if they had taken a nap at all. She gave them the permission slips and explained the trip to the Ministry, the activities they would partake, the fact that the Ministry would organise a nice, little lunch for them. The parents seemed all quite enthusiastic and Lily was happy to run here and there and tell them everything about it.

"Thank you, Lily," said Martha's mother, "I'll tell my husband and bring the slip back tomorrow. It's quite convenient that we both work at the Ministry as well."

Lily beamed. "It is," she replied, before pecking Martha on her cheek and waving goodbye to them.

When she turned towards the classroom there was only one child left. She furrowed her brow and walked to the little desk where Alfie was sitting quietly and still colouring his drawing.

"Alfie," said Lily gently, "shouldn't you have already packed your things? I'm sure Mummy is coming any minute."

"Look," he told her shyly, turning the drawing towards her.

She looked at the drawing. There was Alfie, what looked like either a cat or a dog and his mother. Then there was Lily, taking Alfie's hand. But there was definitely no sign of his father, which was indeed quite strange, since she knew for sure that she had met his father at the meeting at the beginning of the year, and Lily remembered everything.

"Alfie," she whispered, "where's Daddy in this picture?"

The child shook his head. "No, Daddy no," he told her, taking the drawing back and starting to colour it a bit more.

Lily bit her bottom lip. Why wouldn't he draw his father? A thousand and one thoughts went through her head and her heart started to beat a bit faster.

Now she knew that fathers were good.

Now she did, but back when she was Nott's little play toy, she had always thought that all they wanted was to make their children suffer.

_Did Alfie think the same thing? _

She swallowed loudly. "Alfie, let's put your things away, Mummy is coming soon," she murmured.

He nodded and started to push his things into the schoolbag, his round face serious as he placed everything with care inside.

Lily smiled. "Good," she told him, "you're a good boy. Look at that, you are packing your stuff like a big boy." She helped him zipping the schoolbag and right at that moment the door opened again.

"Is he ready?" asked a cold voice from the door that was definitely not Mrs Whittle.

Lily stood up and turned, finding herself looking at Alfie's father. She remembered him from that meeting at the beginning of the year, but now he looked slightly more nervous than he was back in August.

Despite his tone of voice, though, Lily smiled at him. "He's almost ready, Mister Whittle," she told him, "he's putting away his things and—"

"Well, I don't have all night," he snapped.

Lily bit he bottom lip. "Yes, Sir," she replied, "while we wait for him to get ready, I need to give you this permission slip, it's for the upcoming outing to the Ministry, you need to sign it and—"

"Yes, yes," he cut her off, pocketing the slip carelessly. "Are you ready, Alfie?"

Lily turned to look at the child, who was staring at his father with eyes as wide as Galleons. He looked a bit pale as well.

Lily looked back at Mr Whittle. "Wouldn't you like to know what he ate today, Sir? Surely you wouldn't want to give him the same—"

"Listen," barked Alfie's father, "I'm sure you are doing your job and all that jazz very well, but I don't have time for that. He is alive and well, that's all that matters. Now, is he ready or not?"

Lily almost buckled forward when Alfie grabbed her leg, he pushed his face into her thigh and started to sob quietly. She turned quickly and bent down to take the child into her arms. "Oh, no, Alfie," she cooed, "Daddy didn't want to scream, I'm sure. He is just in a hurry, don't worry, dear, everything is going to be alright." She caressed his head and the child brought his little arms to her neck to hug her tightly.

"Exactly," snapped Mr Whittle, "I'm in a hurry, so you better hand over my son because I need to go."

He stepped to where they were standing trying to reach for the child in her arms, but Lily stepped back abruptly. "No," she told him, putting some distance between herself and the man, "he is a bit scared now. It would help if you could stop screaming. His mummy never screams…"

"I don't care," snapped the man, trying to reach the boy again, "I'm not my wife."

Lily almost stumbled over a toy as she stepped back again. "Don't touch him," she cried, "he… he doesn't want to come with you…"

The man looked at her as if she was completely out of her mind. And probably she was, it wasn't her place to tell if children could or couldn't go home with their parents. No, it wasn't. But this boy… this boy was afraid of his father and she knew what it meant to be afraid of one's father.

"Give me my son," he snarled at her, causing Alfie to start crying louder.

Lily shook her head, terrified that if someone came now they would have surely made her hand Alfie over to his father. She didn't want that. "No," she murmured, "no, he doesn't want to go with you."

"Listen, I don't know if you are retarded or just simply stupid," hissed the man, "but if you don't give me my son now, I'll…" He let his voice trail away as his threat lingered in the air, he raised his wand and pointed it at Lily, his eyes narrowing.

Lily gave him her back, hugging the crying child to her chest and shielding him with her body. Whatever that man wanted to do to her, he wouldn't have hurt Alfie as well.

She looked in front of her, to the shelves filled with toys and started to quiver. The teddy bears, the dolls and games were all rattling on the wooden surface, as if they were getting ready to be thrown at the man at her back.

_No, no, no_, she thought forcefully, _don't do it, control it_…

"You dumb slut," snarled the man, "give me the child or I swear to Merlin I'll curse your—aaah!"

"Lay a finger on my girlfriend and I'll break your hand," hissed Scorpius with an aggressiveness that Lily hadn't heard in his voice in years.

She heard the man's wand falling to the floor with a loud 'toc', and then the man himself was brought down to his knees. "You broke my wrist," he whined, his voice much smaller than before.

Scorpius didn't reply, but soon he was wrapping an arm around Lily's shoulders and was drawing her to him. The moment his warm fingers closed around her upper arm the toys fell all back to the shelves and she turned and pushed herself and Alfie against his chest.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, hugging her and Alfie, his voice slightly shaken and surprised. "Lily, you're shaking, are you okay? Did he touch you? Did he hex you?"

She shook her head and revelled in the familiar comfort of his warm embrace. Alfie was still crying in her arms, but she was not sure that it was still because of his father, probably he had noticed that her ill-controlled magic was about to hit his father. Probably he was now afraid of her.

"You're okay," she whispered to him, "don't worry. I'm here."

"What happened?" asked Scorpius, looking down at her without understanding.

"I'll tell you what happened," snapped Alfie's father. "She doesn't want to give me my son back!"

Scorpius stepped back and Lily looked at the man with eyes wide. He was clutching his hand, his wand was still on the floor. Scorpius must have grabbed his wrist in his fingers and brought him to his knees.

"Lily," said Scorpius, his voice concerned, "is that true?"

Lily looked back up at Scorpius, she opened her mouth to reply, but no sound issued forth, so she closed it again and nodded. "He doesn't want to go with him, Scorpius," she whimpered, "look at him, he's trembling… and his father was screaming… he's all scared."

Scorpius looked down at her with apprehension. "Lily, you can't… you cannot _not_ give him his son…"

She shook her head, eyes wide. "He doesn't want to go with him, Scorpius," she told him imploringly, "please, can't you see? Arrest him, Scorpius."

Scorpius bit his bottom lip, looking from her to the man and back again. "Lily, he just wants his son back," he told her softly. He slowly stretched his arm to grab the child from her, but she stepped back again.

"No," she begged, "no, please, Scorpius. He doesn't want to go with him."

Scorpius took a step towards her. "Lily…" He stretched his arms again and when Lily tried to step back, she found herself in a corner of the classroom.

"No, Scorpius," she pleaded, "no, can't you see? He's scared. No… let's call Miss Mitzy…"

"Yes, let's call her," snarled the man, "I'm sure that she'll be horrified to know that her employee doesn't want to return one of the children to his father."

"Lily," murmured Scorpius anxiously, "you… you have to give him the child. You don't want to end up in some sort of predicament. Lily, be reasonable…"

"No, no, Scorpius, no please…" But already he was grabbing the child under his armpits and Lily wouldn't have risked to hurt him, so she slackened her hands from around his little body. Her bottom lip was trembling now as Scorpius took the child in his arms.

"There, there," said Scorpius, patting Alfie's back softly. He walked back to Mr Whittle and tried to hand him the child, but he had locked his arms around his neck and buried his face in Scorpius' shoulder. "No, come on, Alfie," said Scorpius gently, "look, your father is here, he'll take you home…"

"Yes," replied the man coldly as he grabbed the wand from the floor, "come on."

Finally, Scorpius managed to disentangle himself from the boy and handed him to Mr Whittle, who took him roughly and placed him on the floor. He grabbed his wrist as if he was afraid that he would run back to Lily and tugged him along. "Let's go," he hissed coldly, glaring at Lily, before turning away from her and walking briskly out of the classroom with the crying child behind him.

"Lily," Scorpius called her and she was surprised to see him so close to him again.

"Why did you do that?" she asked her voice shaky. "Why did you give him Alfie?"

"He's his father, Lily, you can't… it's not legal to keep children from their parents…"

"He was scared," she cried, grabbing his Auror uniform, "didn't you see? He didn't want to go!"

He grabbed her wrists delicately, looking positively shocked to have her screaming at him. It was, in fact, the first time that Lily felt so upset with him. "Lily, listen you couldn't… you couldn't keep him from his father… he would have called Miss Mitzy and then… then what if the Ministry got involved? You might have lost your job, is that what you want?"

"I don't care," she sobbed, "I don't care! I just… he was scared…"

He hugged her and Lily tried to wriggle away, but she needed the contact of his strong embrace more than she needed to be angry at him.

"I know, Lily," he whispered, "I know, I understand, but—"

"No, you don't," she sobbed, hugging him back, "you don't know. You don't understand… you don't know what it means to be scared of your father…"

He didn't say anything else, but he hugged her tightly, probably knowing that he couldn't understand. Not as well as she did at least.

"I'm sorry," he finally murmured, "I love you. You are right, I don't know anything." He punctuated every word with a kiss on her hair and she felt herself melt a little in his arms despite herself.

She sobbed a little more and finally just leaned her head on his chest and let him rock her gently in his arms.

"Let's do this," he murmured, "if tomorrow morning Alfie is not in your class, you Floo Call me immediately and Al and I will go straight to the child's house to check that everything is alright."

She tilted her head back a little to look into his eyes. "Really?" she asked softly.

"I promise," he replied, leaning down to kiss her wet lips.

She couldn't resist him and kissed him back. She really hoped to see Alfie in her class the following day, but somehow if she didn't, she felt rather reassured that Scorpius and Albus would go and check on him. "Can you come to Grimmauld Place tonight?" she asked softly when she broke the kiss.

He took a deep breath and bit his bottom lip. "No, Lily…"

"I want to come to the Manor, then," she told him urgently. "I'm too upset to stay away from you tonight, please…"

He pulled some of her long locks behind her ear and looked at her almost miserably. "I don't think it's a good idea," he murmured, "maybe you can sleep with your mother…"

She shook her head, feeling the tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes. "I don't need my mother tonight," she whined, "I need you."

"Lily…" he sighed her name with such despair and she really couldn't understand why he wouldn't want to spend the night with her. "Listen, the day after tomorrow we are going to Roxanne's party, right? We're going to spend the whole evening together… the whole day if you want to, okay?"

"But…"

He kissed her to silence, but she could sense that his lips were quivering a bit in nervousness against her. "I love you," he breathed against her lips.

She didn't reply. She didn't have the time because at that moment, James cleared his throat from the doorway and Scorpius let her go and they turned to look at him and Rose standing there.

"Are we interrupting?" asked Rose softly.

Lily shook her head softly. "I…"

"Lils, wait," said James softly, "before you say anything, I want you to know that I'm sorry for what I said last night. I swear I didn't mean those things, you are not a baby, you don't need baby-sitting, in fact in a duel with you I think I would be running for my dear life. No, I'm certain, I wouldn't stand a chance…"

Lily gave the hint of a smile and looked at him, but before she could tell him that everything was all right, Rose croaked out an apology as well, even though she hadn't done anything at all.

"Why—what… what happened?" asked Scorpius, his hard stare fixing upon James.

James swallowed. "I… I just… I got…"

"Nothing happened," Lily supplied quietly. "Nothing, I swear." She turned towards Scorpius and smiled softly. "Saturday, we are going to spend the whole day together, you promise?"

He nodded. "I promise," he whispered, before pecking her lips one last time and turning towards James and Rose. "You better be home soon," he told them, "before your mother starts worrying."

James nodded.

"I need to tidy up first," she reminded them.

"I'll do it," said Rose, taking out her wand.

Lily looked as all the toys and chairs and desks went to their place, and then Scorpius was gone and she was finally hugging Rose and asking her tiredly to be brought home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to my dear reviewers. You always make my day. I hope you'll like this chapter, there are lots of little scenes. I especially love Ron in here! Ah, if you're on LJ, come and find me (link on my profile), I've just revamped it completely and it's very cheerful indeed, plus I'm reccing next gen stories on crack_broom in August, and I swear they're going to be all good recs! Come and find me there!

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Astoria knocked on Scorpius' door, but didn't wait for an answer. She pushed the door open and peered inside, relieved that Scorpius hadn't used an Anti-Alohomora Charm.

"Mother, no," said Scorpius flatly, without looking up from his desk, "I'm not hungry, everything is fine, I need to finish the papers to request a Portkey from Papua New Guinea, I don't want to talk about it."

She stopped and took a deep breath. "I just brought you a cup of tea, Scorpius," she replied quietly. "And what is it that you don't want to talk about?"

"Nothing," he let her know dryly.

She walked to him and placed the cup and saucer on his desk. "Is it the ring still? I'm sure Ginevra will—"

"It's not the ring, Mother," he cut her off roughly, before shaking his head slightly. "I mean, not just the ring… it's just… I don't want to talk about it." He took a deep breath and grabbed the cup, sipping slowly. "Thank you for the tea."

Astoria's lips curved in a soft smile. "You're welcome, dear," she told him. "Do you need anything else?"

He shook his head again. "No," he replied, placing the cup back down and returning his attention to the Portkey documents. "Good night, Mother."

Astoria touched his shoulder lightly. "Good night, Scorpius," she murmured back, before turning away and slowly walking back to the door and out of her son's room. She would have wanted to stay and try to coax something else out of him, but that was not the way Malfoys usually behaved. They kept everything inside and tried to smother their emotions until nothing remained. She knew that far too well.

She closed Scorpius' door at her back and kept walking until she found herself in front of Draco's study. She knocked lightly and walked in, closing the door at her back.

"How's Scorpius?" asked Draco, raising his head from his _Guide to the Perfect Crup Breeder_. "Did you find out why he wouldn't have dinner with us?"

She shook her head. "He doesn't want to talk," she replied, leaning against the door. "He is just like his father."

Draco chuckled. "We talk all the time," he pointed out, closing the book.

She raised a questioning eyebrow. "You do now," she told him. She wanted to add that he didn't before he had been to Azkaban. She wanted to remind him what kind of person he was. The kind of person who would buy a woman for his teenage son, just to relieve him of his virginity, the kind of person who would not speak more than a few words to his wife each day, the kind of person who had lost himself and forgotten about his family.

"Are you worried?" he asked her softly. "You look worried."

Astoria shook her head. "I'm just… concerned for Scorpius, you know," she replied, "he looks… he looks so unhappy." She looked at Draco and bit her bottom lip. "When he is away from her, at least." She felt her cheeks go up in flames. Did her husband remember what it was like to be young and be in love? Did he remember what they did when they were still engaged? Did he remember staying up all night cuddling at her estate and leaving before dawn to Apparate to the Manor before her father noticed that she had company? Did he remember taking her to Paris to his flat at Les Champs-Elysées for the weekends and making love to her in front of the fire until—

"What are you thinking about?"

Astoria blinked and tilted her head back, until her prim hairdo was brushing against the hard wood of the door. Draco was standing next to her, a hand against the wall near her face, his grey eyes looking intently at her features. She hadn't even heard him moving. "Nothing," she murmured.

"You were smiling," he pointed out softly.

"Was I?" she asked and brought her fingers to her lips to see if they were still curved upwards. They were.

Draco leaned in closer. Astoria only saw his face disappear under her chin before his lips brushed against her neck and he kissed her where her pulsing vein was betraying her excitement to have her husband so close to her.

"I know what you were thinking about," he whispered against her throat.

"You do?" she asked breathily, her fingers twitching on the door handle that poked her back.

"Hmm," he replied, "you were thinking about Scorpius' wedding day… the Manor full of people… you wearing the most beautiful dress amongst the guests… putting even Mrs Potter to shame… hmm, I bet that's why she doesn't want Scorpius to marry Lily…" He alternated between kissing and breathing against her warm skin and Astoria's head became lighter and lighter, until her eyes fluttered and her heartbeat increased. "Am I right?" he whispered.

"No," she giggled, "I was thinking about us. But now I can see me as the mother of the groom and the centre of attention at the wedding…"

He kissed his way to her cheek. "No, no," he murmured near her ear, "go back to think about us… what were you thinking about?"

She smiled as his lips reached the corner of her mouth. "About us when we were Scorpius' age," she murmured. "Young and stupid and in love…"

"Astoria, dear," he whispered against her lips, "I think we still are young and stupid and in love…"

She turned her head towards him and entangled her fingers in his blond hair. Oh yes, they were, young and stupid and in love… just like Scorpius and Lily were, and Astoria wished them to feel just like they felt thirty years into the future.

"Shall we go to bed?" he asked her as he pushed her against the door.

"Are you tired already?" she breathed.

He chuckled. "Actually I wasn't thinking about sleeping…"

And Astoria's head was even lighter as he guided her to their bedroom and pushed her down on the silk covers of their four poster bed to make love to her and keep her warm in the coldness of the Manor.

oooOOOooo

Mrs Whittle gnawed on her bottom lip as she looked anxiously at Lily. "I'm terribly sorry about last night," she said for the umpteenth time, "my husband… he is not a patient man, I'm afraid."

Lily tried to smile at her. "I… I was just worried for Alfie," she admitted, "he seemed very scared. I didn't mean to stand between your husband and your son." She glanced at Alfie, the boy was colouring a big heart, just like everybody else was doing in the class, and he didn't seem any different from his classmates. He was not as scared as the night before, he looked perfectly normal and he had kissed his mother's cheek just like he did every morning before going to his little desk to colour. Lily swallowed. "I didn't mean to put up that scene," she told her, "my… my boyfriend told me that I shouldn't have… I'm sorry…" She pulled some locks behind her ear and added, "And I'm sure Scorpius is sorry to have hurt your husband."

Mrs Whittle smiled at her. "I'm sure your boyfriend was only being protective," she replied. "My husband is sorry too. He was just… he is not a patient man…"

Lily nodded. "Have you found Alfie's teddy bear, Mrs Whittle?" she asked. "He is really missing it."

Mrs Whittle smiled nervously. "I think… I still have to check his toy room," she replied, "I know, he has it somewhere. I'm… my husband and I are just very busy lately."

Lily nodded again at her words. "Mrs Whittle," she added shyly, "I couldn't help noticing the bruise on your face the other day. I… I just wanted to know if you were alright, if you… if you need any help… my father and my two brothers and… well, almost everybody in my family is an Auror… So, if you need any kind of discreet assistance maybe…"

"Oh my dear girl," smiled Mrs Whittle, bringing a hand to her cheek to cover what was not there anymore, "I… I just fell. Nothing to worry about. I tripped and fell, I can be rather clumsy when I'm in a hurry."

Lily bit her bottom lip. "Yes, sure, I'm sorry to be so prying, Mrs Whittle, I was just worrying," she told her softly, "I always worry for the well-being of the children."

"And we thank you for that, Lily," replied Mrs Whittle gently. "But there's nothing to worry about in our case. My husband was just in a hurry and my son could feel that he was nervous and reacted that way. But don't worry, my husband… he loves our son."

Lily nodded eagerly at her words. "Oh, I'm sure he does," she told her gently.

"Yes," she replied softly. "Oh, my! Before I forget, I have the permission slip right here." She drew it out of her pocket and handed it to Lily. "I think it's a wonderful idea to bring the children to the Ministry, I'm sure they're going to learn and have fun at the same time."

"We hope so," replied Lily, checking the paper carefully. "You can come and pick him up at the Ministry if you are happier that way."

She shook her head. "Here would be perfect," she replied. "I'm afraid I have to go now, I'm sorry again for the incomprehension with my husband."

"I'm sorry I reacted that way…"

"Don't worry," replied Mrs Whittle faintly. "I'll see you this evening, Lily. Have a pleasant day."

"You too," called Lily, but Mrs Whittle was already walking out of the classroom with quick steps and her chin up in the air. She cast an askew glance at her son, and soon she had disappeared in the corridor.

Lily couldn't understand how she could part from Alfie without even saying a proper goodbye to him. She remembered when she had started Hogwarts, her mother walked her to every class, and she waited for her and then walked her to the Great Hall or the Gryffindor Common Room, and her eyes always almost filled with tears when Lily had to attend a lesson. And Lily's eyes filled with tears as well at the thought that she wouldn't have been able to spend time with her mother for an hour or two.

Yes, in hindsight probably that had been a bit of an extreme situation, none of the other students had ever had their parents walking them around the halls of Hogwarts – at the same though, none of the other students had their parents working at the school as well.

But still, Mrs Whittle's reaction appeared as rather cold to Lily. Lily herself thought that she would have kissed her own children ten thousand times every time they would have a lesson at Miss Mitzy's. Even when the teacher was Lily herself.

For a moment she stopped and thought of Scorpius kissing their children. She thought of him holding them and smiling and maybe reading tales to them before they fell asleep. All twelve of them. Yes, she wanted to fill the house where they would have lived with the laughter and screams of children.

She was still smiling at the thought when she sat at her desk and placed Alfie's permission slip in the drawer with the others she had previously collected. There were still four children whose parents had forgotten to bring the slip back, but that was normal. Actually, Betsy said that Lily was lucky, she herself was still missing more than half of her students' slips.

She closed the drawer and looked at the children. They were colouring some big hearts that they would have given to someone in the class the upcoming week, because the following Saturday was Valentine's Day. She was already getting all giddy with excitement at the thought that she would have spent the day with Scorpius. Well, of course he had promised that they would have spent this Saturday together as well– and they usually spent all the Saturdays and all the Sundays and all the holidays together – but for a special day such as Valentine's Day, Scorpius always had something nice planned for her.

And she did too. This year she had planned to bake a cake for him. Yes, she still hadn't abandoned her desire to learn how to cook. She still wanted to be able to take care of Scorpius one day – what if they lost all their money and couldn't afford house-elves and instead they had to learn how to get by? – she needed to be able to cook. And she was going to do exactly that. She was going to ask Taffy to teach her how to bake a cake – maybe they would have baked it together – and then she would have put a lot of red icing and chocolate hearts on the top and lots of cream inside… She couldn't wait!

With a sigh she tried to get rid of those daydreams and focus back on her students. They were almost done with their hearts and some of them were already wandering for the classroom.

It was time to read a story from her beloved book of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_. Today's choice was going to be _The Fountain of Fair Fortune_, and Lily was all excited about it because she got to be Sir Luckless.

She stood up and walked in the middle of the classroom. She pointed her wand to her clothes and Transfigured them into a shiny armour.

"Gather around, children," she called them as she sat on the floor amongst the clangs of her armour, "for I'll tell you the story of Sir Luckless and the three witches Asha, Altheda and Amata and the magic fountain where they all went to bathe…"

oooOOOooo

"No, no, no, no."

Albus gaped at Scorpius as the blond man kept shaking his head.

"No," he repeated, "no and no, Albus. That's absolutely out of the question. I will not go tomorrow all the way to Papua New Guinea to talk to the Scamanders about Toots."

Albus took a deep breath. "I thought you agreed that there was something worth investigating about Toots' death," he told him quietly.

Scorpius shook his head. "It's not that," he grunted, "I think it's… I'm sure that there's something wrong here… it's just that… that I promised Lily to spend the day with her tomorrow…"

"You'll spend Sunday together," supplied Albus, "and we'll be back for Roxanne's party anyway. You'll spend the whole evening together."

"I need to spend the whole weekend with her," snapped Scorpius hotly.

Albus cocked his head. "Well, aren't you romantic?" he grinned. "I'm afraid you'll have to tell Lily that you can't spend the day with her. You'll make it up to her on Sunday."

Scorpius groaned and collapsed on his chair. "But I promised her…"

"Well, you could come and have dinner at Grimmauld Place like… like you always do, really," pointed out Albus, "I don't know why you would not come anymore."

"None of your business," muttered Scorpius. "Tell me why they can't come to Britain like we'd previously planned."

Well, that was a good question, Albus wasn't sure that Scorpius would have liked the answer too much. "Lorcan and Lysander are too small to travel through Portkey," he told him, "and Luna and Rolf are going to be leaving for Australia by boat next week. So if we want to catch them before they are lost somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean—"

"Pacific."

"Yes, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, I meant, because that would make it difficult for us to request a Portkey and reach them," he explained. "Thus we need to use the Portkeys we ordered for them the other way round. You know, we go there… they invited us for lunch… we ask them a few questions about Tilden Toots and Professor Sprout and… then we come back home." He grinned slightly, "Maybe… maybe we could bring our swimming trunks as well, apparently they live on a beach…"

Scorpius darkened. "Maybe Lily could come with us," he suggested softly.

Albus laughed heartily at that. He couldn't be serious. "Yes," he chuckled, "and then my mother would die of a heart attack…"

The blond Auror sighed in resignation. Luckily, Scorpius seemed to understand that his suggestion was not dictated by his brain, but by something else. His heart, Albus suspected, since Scorpius clearly wasn't planning on getting Lily naked and pushing her down on the beach and—Albus shook his head, shivering. That was something he didn't want to think about. "So, it's planned," he told him. "You and I, a day at the beach, some talking…"

Scorpius shook his head. "You need a girlfriend," he told him seriously, "you are starting to freak me out."

"It's because I like to freak you out," grinned Albus, "I'd freak you out even if I had a girlfriend, you know…"

"Right," replied Scorpius, rolling his eyes, "let's prepare some questions, I know the Scamanders are prone to forgetfulness and talking nonsense. Better be prepared to keep the conversation on track."

Albus nodded. "You do that, I'm going to tell my father about it," he said, "ask permission to go to Papua as Aurors and tell him not to expect Luna and Rolf for lunch tomorrow."

oooOOOooo

"This isn't so bad, after all," murmured Rose as she moved the umpteenth folder from a pile to another, "I mean, we don't have to focus too much on what we are doing and we have a lot of free time to think about other stuff…"

James glanced at her from behind his pile of folders. "Yeah," he replied vaguely, "if you say so…" He wasn't so happy to have all that time to think about _stuff_. First of all, he was continuously thinking about the way he had treated his sister two nights before. And even though she had promised him that it was all forgotten and that she knew that he didn't mean those things, he still felt rather ashamed of having actually said those things out loud to her and in front of their mother and the rest of their family. And secondly, he was spending quite a lot of time thinking about who he could have hooked up Rose with at the party. And it was giving him a headache, really. He needed to talk to Josh, see if he was still single. And maybe talk to Josh's ex-girlfriend too, because spending all that time with Rose planning a way to make Emeric jealous was starting to make him feel rather _girly_.

"Like tomorrow night," murmured Rose, still shifting folders above folders and putting them in alphabetical order for the benefit of nobody at all, really. All a person had to do to find a file in the archive was to _Accio_ it out of the pile. Their work there was utterly useless, a real punishment in the true sense of the word.

"What about tomorrow night?" asked James softly.

"How are we supposed to keep an eye on Lily without her knowing?" she asked, shifting on the chair. "What if she and Scorpius withdraw into a corner to snog. Are we supposed to keep staring at them?"

"I'd rather not, thank you very much," muttered James. "Come on, honestly, we don't have to keep an eye on her. You are right, there's nothing to worry about at a party at Roxy's flat, I mean, it's just going to be us and we'll simply bring her home when the party is over."

"Or at midnight as your mother asked," sighed Rose. "Isn't Scorpius taking her home though?"

James shrugged a shoulder. "Yes, no, I don't know," he replied flatly. "He's a bit… I don't know, he's not exactly warm towards Lily lately."

"I noticed," replied Rose, blue eyes huge as she looked at him, "why do you think?"

"I have no idea," murmured James, "except… Well, maybe… no, it can't be…"

"What?" whispered Rose urgently, quivering in anticipation on the chair. "Come on, what?"

James moved his chair closer to Rose's. Even though there was nobody there, it wouldn't have been good if someone walked in there unexpectedly and found them talking about Lily rather than working. "Well, Albus said that Scorpius told him that he and Lily had never… you know…"

Rose nodded. "I know, I think Albus told everybody already," she sighed.

"Exactly," murmured James, "I… you don't think that maybe he… he got tired of waiting? Maybe he… I mean it's quite an unconventional relationship, isn't it? I mean…"

Rose brought a hand to her mouth, looking at him in horror. "But that's so sad!" she told him. "I mean, no! I don't want to think about it! Poor Lily! No, no, no… they are in love and they'll get married and they'll live happily ever after and…" Her voice trailed away as her eyes filled with tears, surely she was thinking about the fact that she wouldn't have had all these things any time soon.

James' heart raced in his chest. "Hey, Rose, don't cry," he said quickly, "I'm sure you are right… every girl deserves a happily ever after, don't they? Come on…"

"I don't," she replied darkly, brushing away the tears with the back of her hand.

"Everyone," he insisted, "especially you." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest, kissing her forehead as her hair tickled his neck. "Come on," he whispered, "we're going to have fun tomorrow at the party… you will forget about Emeric altogether, you'll snog someone silly and then maybe you'll even go home with someone…"

"Yeah," she replied, "I'll go home with you and Lily, remember?"

He sighed. "Yeah," he replied. He kept forgetting that they were going to work undercover at the party.

She pushed her hand on his chest and tilted her head back. "Okay," she said, giving the hint of a smile, "we better go on here, we still have forty piles of these things…"

"I don't think that anybody would notice if we just came in here and napped… honestly, nobody cares whether these things are in alphabetical order or not…" he grunted.

Rose looked at him, scandalised. "Of course someone would notice! The Head Auror for example," she snapped. "And I would rather put the whole archive in alphabetical order than have your father or my father scolding me again like a little child!"

James sighed. "You are right," he agreed, moving his chair back to its original position. "Let's keep putting these files in some kind of order, before someone comes here to scowl at us again…" He lowered his eyes and couldn't help thinking about how lucky Hugo and Emeric were to be out on the field working on his and Scorpius' – and then his and Rose's – case.

oooOOOooo

"I'd rather be back in the office than here," growled Emeric, trying to wipe away the beautifying potion that he had been sprayed all over the face at the entrance of Madam Primpernelle's. "I'd rather be sitting in a chair staring at a pile of documents than walking around Diagon Alley to look for nothing!"

Hugo tried hard to smother his laughter in his scarf, but knew he didn't really succeed when Emeric shot him a glare.

"You think it's funny, don't you?" he grunted.

"I think you are funny," replied Hugo, "the way you complain about everything. Come on, look at the bright side, your skin is basically glowing…"

Emeric seemed to try to kill Hugo with a glare. "I'll look at the bright side alright," he snapped, "this futile research will be over before lunch and we'll be able to focus on something else."

"Futile research?" asked Hugo scandalised. "I beg your pardon, three unicorns have been slain in the Forbidden Forest, do you think that's an unimportant matter?"

"I think we are looking in the wrong place for those unicorn slayers," huffed Emeric. "If James and Rose didn't find anything in Knockturn Alley, we sure as hell are not going to find anything in Diagon Alley! It's clear as day that those people are simply using those unicorn parts for their private potions or rituals or whatever they are using them for. We are not going to find anything here."

Hugo cocked a ginger eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. "And what do you suggest then, Auror Zabini?" he asked him flatly.

Emeric dodged a plump little angel who was about to dust some stardust on his hair – _to make it shinier and softer_, read the label that hung from the angel's leg – and looked at Hugo in the eyes. "I suggest that we do a bit of research about dark magic and rituals that involve this kind of ingredients. The Ministry has an equipped library, I'm sure we'll be more than able to find something…"

"And then?" asked Hugo impatiently.

"And then we can… I don't know… track down the magic? Be ready to fight whatever those people are trying to create? Surely nothing good considering that—stop it! I don't want to scrub myself clean! I am clean already!" He slapped one of those little angels away and some girls turned to stare at them. "Let's go," he grumbled, wrapping his scarf tightly around his face to – Hugo suspected – hide from all those unwanted stares. They walked back outside before they could even talk to Madam Primpernelle herself.

"You know," said Hugo thoughtfully, "maybe it's not someone who wants to use those ingredients for some dark ritual or potion. Maybe it's just someone who is desperate because a relative or a lover is dying and they are trying to keep them alive with the blood of the unicorn and—"

"You are more romantic than your sister, you know that?" blurted out Emeric. "She would have already started analysing the situation from a rational point of view and then she would have considered the odds and finally she would have decided what to do next."

Hugo was torn between blushing in embarrassment and feeling rather annoyed. He decided to go with being annoyed. After all, if a girl had told him that he was romantic he would have swelled up his chest and smiled his cockiest grin, but a guy… it sounded very much as if he was making fun of him. Especially because Emeric had just told him that he was more romantic than a girl. "Well, she is more analytical than I am," grunted Hugo. "Let's go. We need to book our time in the library, you know that, don't you?"

oooOOOooo

"No!"

"Yes."

"No, I can't believe it."

"Believe it, Ron," sighed Harry, dressing his salad with some olive oil and a bit of vinaigrette.

"And Ginny threw him out?"

Harry nodded as he mixed the greens. "Yes, she told him that Lily is too young to get married and that she basically forbade him to ask for her hand," he sighed.

"And you don't think that?" he asked him, cocking an eyebrow. Ron's own salad lay almost untouched in front of him, even though Harry suspected it wasn't for the surprise of the news he had just bestowed upon his best friend.

"Of course, I think that she is too young," grunted Harry, "she would be too young even if she were fifty…"

"But?"

Harry sighed. "But she'll have to marry someone sooner or later, I mean… it's the natural order of things, one grows up, gets married, has children—"

"You want to talk to Charlie?"

"Ron," murmured Harry, "what I mean is that Lily surely would love to get married to Scorpius and… if I have to be completely and utterly honest with you, I want her to get married to Scorpius Malfoy as well…" Harry poked at the lettuce with his fork. "I mean, he loves her, he knows what she has been through, he respects her and… honestly, he just knows how to handle her and her emotions. Almost more than Ginny and I manage to do…"

Ron pushed the salad to his side and looked around himself furtively, before producing a sandwich from somewhere under the table. He unwrapped it and took a quick bite of the fragrant bread and mouth-watering salami. "If Hermione sees you…" Harry whispered, shaking his head.

"Exactly," he replied, chewing furiously on the sandwich, "that's why I'm having lunch with you rather than my wife."

"I thought it was to listen to my woes," pointed out Harry dryly.

"What woes? Scorpius wants to ask Lily to marry him and you want that too," he told him as he kept bolting down the sandwich, "it's a win-win."

"Ginny doesn't want Lily to marry. I suspect ever," pointed out Harry.

"She'll get over it," replied Ron, "I mean, she can't lock her in the tower, right? Even Viridina found her knight in the tower and—what?"

"Are you quoting from _Viridina and the Knight_?" chuckled Harry.

"_The Tale of Viridina the Witch and Her Handsome Knight_," corrected Ron, "and yes, I know the whole story without having read the book, thanks to your daughter and your wife and my wife even."

Harry chuckled. Talking to Ron always made him feel better, even when Ron was being so _Ron_. Actually, especially when he was being Ron. Which was all the time, really. He brought some salad to his mouth and chewed it with faked enthusiasm, before raising his eyes over his brother-in-law's head and finding himself staring at a fuming Hermione. Her hands were on her hips in a quit menacing way.

"Hem… Ron…" muttered Harry.

Ron raised his eyes from his sandwich. "What?" he spluttered.

"Your… your wife…"

He stiffened. "Is she standing behind me?" he asked softly.

Harry nodded.

"Did she see the sandwich?" he whispered.

Over his head, Hermione nodded.

"I'm afraid so, mate," murmured Harry.

"Am I screwed?"

Hermione nodded again.

Harry sighed. "I guess so…"

Ron took a deep breath as he stuffed the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth. "What?" he asked as Harry shot him an incredulous look. "If I'm going to die I'm going to die happy and stuffed…"

oooOOOooo

"But… but… I really hoped that we would spend the day together," murmured Lily, "the whole day… you promised…"

Scorpius bit his bottom lip. This was all Albus' fault. Had he imagined that those little fellas were too small to Portkey travel all the way to England, they would have scheduled another day to meet the Scamanders and Scorpius wouldn't have had to work on Saturday and stay another day apart from Lily. Especially now that they were apart more time than not. He cupped her cheeks and leaned in to kiss her. "Listen," he murmured feathering kisses on her pouting lips, "I'll be away the whole day, but I promise that I'll be at Roxy's party tomorrow night and will make it up to you for the day we haven't spent together."

She smiled softly at him, looking up into his eyes with her beautiful chocolaty ones. "You're going to dance with me?" she asked softly.

He took a deep breath. Ah, what one did for love! She loved to dance and he was as good as a rock. Still, every time he stomped on her poor toes or bumped into something or someone, Lily just praised him and told him how wonderful it was for her to dance with him. "We'll dance all night, if that's what you want," he told her softly.

She shrugged a shoulder. "We can snog a bit too, if you want," she told him, "and eat what Auntie Angelina will cook for the party."

He grinned and kissed her again. "I like all these ideas," he murmured, before adding, "I wish you could come with us…"

"I wish that too," she replied, "I really would like to see Luna and Rolf and Lorcan and Lysander…"

"I'll say hi from you," he assured her. "I'm sure it's going to be unbearably hot and humid and full of flies and—"

"And white sand beaches and turquoise oceans," she finished for him. "I wish I could see them…"

He looked into her eyes and saw only longing to go somewhere. Anywhere. Well, if in the end he managed to ask her to marry him, he would have organised the most fantastic and most wonderful honeymoon his friends and family had ever seen. He would have brought her in all those places where she had always wanted to go. Mrs Potter would have had a heart attack, granted, but Lily would have been happy. Scorpius himself would have been happy.

He would have brought her to Paris first and foremost. Because the Malfoys owned a flat there, and they would have taken the bateau on the Seine and they would shop in Les Champs-Élysées and then they would take a Portkey to Italy, to Venice and Rome and then off to some tropical island where—

"You should come to Grimmauld Place tonight… just to spend some time with me before you leave," she murmured, waking him from his reverie.

He took a deep breath. "Lily…"

She brought a hand to his lips. "No, not for me," she hurried to say, "I mean, if you don't want to come for me… I understand, it's for… for Luna and Rolf and the twins, I made something for them, you know, I just wanted to give them to you so that you can give them to the Scamanders…"

He kissed her fingertips and moved her hand away. "Of course I want to come for you," he replied, "I just, I have to get things ready for tomorrow. Which is really tonight, considering the time difference…"

"But…"

"Give them to Al," he suggested, "I'm sure he'll be happy to bring anything you've prepared for the Scamanders tomorrow."

She nodded and lowered her eyes. It was clear as day to him that she just wanted him to come to Grimmauld Place, she was his super intelligent girlfriend, of course she knew that she could have given any present she had for them to her brother, she just wanted him to go to her house. And he wanted that too. How long would have it taken Mrs Potter to either forgive him for his daring action or to give him her blessing?

"Who's coming to pick you up?" he asked her softly. The parents had all come and gone, even Mrs Whittle, and all she had to do was flicking her wand to clean up and tidy, and then she could have gone home. But whoever was coming seemed unaware of the fact that she finished a bit earlier on Fridays due to the parents picking their children up half an hour before the usual time. They usually spent those minutes snogging, or with Lily showing him what the children had done that day or with him telling her about his day at the Ministry, or even more often with the two of them deciding what to do that weekend.

"Teddy," she replied, "he just brought Remus home and said he'll be back—"

"Now," Teddy finished for her from the door. "Are you ready, Lils?"

Scorpius let her go and she nodded and drew out her wand. She was quick to tidy and clean the classroom that looked more like a battlefield at times.

"I'll just go and change real quick," she told him and hurried to the changing rooms reserved to the teachers to take off her pinafore.

"Still not going to Grimmauld Place?" asked Teddy once they were alone.

Scorpius glanced at him and shook his head.

"Still not telling what's up?"

"Nothing's up," pointed out Scorpius dryly.

Teddy snorted. "Yes, sure," he replied, "did you have a row with someone? Harry perhaps?"

Scorpius bit his bottom lip. "No," he replied. "And even if I had I hardly think it'd be any of your business."

Teddy raised his hands next to his face. "Sorry," he murmured, "just trying to understand what's wrong between you and Lily…"

"Nothing's wrong between us," he replied quickly, "we're perfectly fine."

Lily walked back into the classroom, her pinafore neatly folded in her hands, her coat tightly wrapped around her waist.

"I'll see you tomorrow," murmured Scorpius, kissing her forehead, "at the party.

"I can't wait," grinned Lily. "Say hi to your parents from me. And to the Scamanders tomorrow."

"I will," he replied, pulling her in a tight embrace before letting her go and turning towards Teddy. "Are you coming to the party?" he asked him.

Teddy snorted. "With a two-year-old child I am definitely not coming…" he sighed. "Especially when our favourite baby-sitter is going out partying as well."

Lily giggled and went to Teddy. "You could bring him to the party," she suggested with a grin, "I'm sure he would have fun…"

"You silly girl," chuckled Teddy, "you'd love to see his parents running behind him as he got lost in the crowd."

Lily laughed at that and Scorpius' lips curved into a smile as well. That would have been fun.

"Better if we go before Ginny throws something at me because I've brought you home late," he told her. "Have a nice trip to Papua New Guinea, Scorpius."

"Thanks," replied Scorpius as he walked out with them.

"Remember to bring some sun lotion," suggested the blue-haired man.

"I'm going there to work, Teddy," he reminded him.

Teddy pushed the door open and Lily walked in front of him. "I know, but knowing Luna and Rolf they'll probably talk to you on the beach or in the ocean…"

"Have fun," murmured Lily, kissing his cheek. "Remember to say hi to Luna."

"I will, Lily."

Teddy nodded at him and then hugged Lily and finally whisked her away in a side-along Apparition. Leaving Scorpius there to contemplate the place where they had just disappeared and wishing he was the one with the girl in his arms.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to my dear reviewers! I don't think I thank you enough. Dear hashi, I know I should not reply to you here, but you wrote so many questions for me! I just couldn't resist! That said, I can't reply to any of them, unless I want to spoil you things! :D But I can tell you that there's not going to be George at all in this story. Hmm, the one I'm working on has a lot of George though... Wait for it! Thank you for all your comments!

Before you delve into this chapter, let me tell you that a) I've never been to Papua (but I've researched the place and cuisine on the internet) and b) I'm terrible at writing Luna - even though I love her. That said, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

The moment Scorpius was slammed to the ground of Rossel Island – or Yela, as the Scamanders insisted on calling it – he groaned out loud. No, the fall hadn't been that bad, in fact he had been rather good at falling on his hands and knees as opposite to his face as he used to do when he was still a teenager, but the smothering humidity of the tropical island slapped his cheeks and imprinted a thin layer of perspiration on his hairline almost immediately. He didn't like warm and humid climates, he was a man who liked to live in the coldness of the Manor and didn't fare well in places that caused sweat to pour into his eyes.

For a moment he was glad that Lily wasn't there, he surely didn't look too good all sweaty and flushed, and he knew that before the end of the day he was also going to stink…

He pushed his hands on the wet ground and stood up, the dark soil glued to his palms and he just sighed and brushed it on his khaki shorts. He turned around to see where Albus had landed and stopped dead.

Albus had landed right there next to him, but he was still lying there on the ground, eyes as big as two oranges and face as pale as a ghost. "Scorpius…" he murmured, looking at him.

"Don't move," whispered Scorpius, drawing out his wand. On Albus' hand the biggest spider he had ever seen – and no, he had never seen any Acromantula before – was crawling its way towards the dark-haired man's arm.

What was the spell again? Something that had 'arac—'… 'aracnides'… 'ara—something'. Damn it! Lily would remember it…

"Oh there you are! We've been looking for you for the whole island, we've kind of forgotten where—"

"Shh!" Scorpius glanced at Luna with Lorcan – or was that Lysander? – in her arms, appearing from behind a thick curtain of vegetation and gestured for Albus' hand where the spider seemed to have found an ideal nest where to settle between his middle and forefinger.

"Oh, hello Albus," said Luna dreamily, walking around him, "I almost didn't see you there."

"Spider," mouthed Albus in a terrified whisper.

Luna seemed to ignore him altogether. She placed the twin she was carrying to the ground and turned to give a dreamy smile to Scorpius. "Did you have a nice trip?"

Scorpius looked at her as if she was crazy – well, he knew she kind of was, really, his father called her Loony for a reason – and gestured for Luna to turn to have a proper look at Albus' hand. His face scrunched up in horror when he spotted the toddler with the spider in his little hands and Albus' even more terrified expression upon his face.

"Mummy…" called the boy.

"What is it, Lorcan? Oh, what a pretty spider you've got there, dearie," she told him, "but we can't bring it with us. We should put it in the jungle surely he has his wife and his children to go to…"

The boy nodded and let the spider fall to the ground, causing Albus to let out a very unmanly scream as he jumped to his feet and away from the arachnid which started running away into the woods.

Luna smiled at him. "Albus, you are exactly like your Uncle Ron," she told him, "afraid of a dear little creature." She picked up Lorcan again and went to kiss Scorpius' cheeks. Then they kissed Albus' and the dark-haired Auror looked at them as if they were both out of their minds.

"A dear little creature?" grunted Albus, wiping the dirt from his face and clothes. "_A dear little creature_? That was a monster! It had more legs and eyes than a creature should be allowed to have!"

Luna giggled and to Scorpius' surprise even Lorcan laughed. Probably the two-year-old was actually laughing at Albus.

"Shall we go to the house?" asked Luna gently. "Rolf prepared some typical Papuan food." She didn't wait for their reply, but stalked away and into the forest, and only then Scorpius noticed that she wasn't wearing anything but a skimpy little dress that fluctuated in the breeze of the island. She had no shoes and, dear little creatures aside, he was sure that it was not a safe thing to go strolling barefoot through the forest on a tropical island…

Scorpius already felt quite vulnerable in shorts and a shirt, too much of his milky white skin was offered to surely some gigantic insects that would soon feast with his blood.

"Did you have a nice journey?" asked Luna in her dreamy tone of voice that let them know that she would have found particularly interesting either if their journey had been very comfortable or very uncomfortable.

"Was alright," replied Albus, his eyes busy checking the ground for other unwanted dear little creatures. "The landing was a bit rough."

"As always," added Scorpius, dunking to avoid being hit by a branch right in the face. It wouldn't do to disfigure himself before that night's party.

"And is everything brilliant back at home?" she asked, turning to look at them as she moved a branch from in front of her to show a little, wooden construction in the middle of a clearing. "How's my goddaughter?"

"She's brilliant," replied Scorpius with a silly smile upon his lips.

"She gave me a ton of stuff for you and Rolf and the kids, Luna," said Albus. "Just tell me that that's your house and I'll be happy to put everything down."

Luna nodded. "That's indeed our house," she replied, "until the day after tomorrow. We are moving to Australia, Rolf thinks that there's a new species of Billywigs that are light blue instead of sapphire, and he wants to try to get stung in order to see if the they have the same side effects."

"Side effects?" Who on earth would have wanted to be stung by an insect voluntarily.

"Giddiness followed by levitation," replied Luna, putting Lorcan down as they stepped up the stairs that brought to the door of their house. At least they were shrewd enough to know that they had to keep the door far over the ground to avoid spiders, and snakes and Merlin knew what other creatures crawled the island, from getting inside.

She pushed the ajar door open and a delicious smell of something meaty stewing slowly on the fire wafted right to their nostrils.

"Ah, they are here," grinned Rolf in his American accent. "How are you, lads?" He winked at them as if to show that he had just learned a new word, as opposite to _dudes_ probably, like he had called them last time he had come to England to visit.

"All's good, Rolf," replied Albus with a smile, "and this smells delicious."

"Thank you, my first time cooking this, but I've taken cooking lessons from the old woman of the village, I hope I nailed it," he replied, before turning towards his son. "Lysander, come and say hi to our guests."

The boy, a spitting image of his brother, ran to Scorpius and waved his hands high in the air for the Auror to pick him up. Scorpius smiled as he did as he was asked.

"Hey, Lysander, I might be jealous if you run to Scorpius first," protested Albus with a grin on his face.

Lysander grabbed Scorpius' face and licked his cheek from his jaw to his ear.

"Or maybe not that jealous," chuckled Albus.

"Hey!" protested Scorpius, putting him down and brushing away the saliva.

"Oh, Scorpius, he likes you," beamed Rolf, "he is learning from the animals – we think Mother Nature is a very good teacher, and that's how some marsupials show their affection, by licking their friends and family."

"Oh great," muttered Scorpius, "go and show your affection to Albus, Lysander."

"No, stay away," warned Albus, pushing the toddler off of him, "no. Lysander! No! I taste very bitter, you wouldn't like to lick me… and I'm all sweaty. It's not hygienic, you little—ouch!"

Scorpius couldn't suppress his laughter as Lysander bit down on Albus' shin and the Auror jumped forward in surprise rather than pain.

"You should have picked him up," said Luna distractedly, looking around herself. "Oh now, where did I put Lorcan?"

"I think you left him outside," pointed out Albus as he finally picked up Lysander and submitted to the wet treatment with a sigh.

Scorpius sighed as well. "I'll go and get him, Luna," he told her. He was sure that if she was to go, she would have started observing some kind of butterfly or bird or whatever and just disappeared into the forest, maybe even forgetting her own son and not only Albus and Scorpius. And they had only that day to ask them about Toots and plants and stuff…

"Thank you, Scorpius," said Luna, "I'll set the table."

He pushed the flimsy door open and walked down the steps. Lorcan was crouching on the ground near to a hole and was talking in hushed tones to himself.

"Hey Lorcan," Scorpius called as he walked to him, "aren't you hungry? Your dad made something that smells delicious, shouldn't we go and wash our hands?"

"Newt!" said the child pointing towards the hole.

Scorpius looked at the hole as well. "What? A newt here? Don't they need water or something? Is there a river nearby?"

Lorcan smiled at him and pushed his hand into the hole, grasping something and pulling. Scorpius' had just the time to try to remember if newts were poisonous – probably on a tropical island they were – when Lorcan's little hand drew out a snake from the hole. Well, the head and part of the body of a snake, it was too thick and long to come out all at once.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, grabbing Lorcan and trying to tug him away. "That's no newt, Lorcan!"

"Snake," said the child sensibly as the snake was pulled from the hole. "Daddy calls him Newt, like his grandpa."

"Let him go!" grunted Scorpius as he stepped back with Lorcan in his arms.

"No!" protested the child. "Newt is coming with us to Australia! Mummy said that…"

Scorpius' mouth hung open as he looked at the plump face of the snake and at Lorcan's fingers tightly wrapped around its throat. Bloody hell, those children were trouble!

"It's a snake, for crying out loud!" snapped Scorpius. "And you're not leaving until the day after tomorrow. Let it go!"

Lorcan pouted, but he suddenly let the snake go and Scorpius took a couple of unstable steps back before falling on the ground with the laughing child in his lap. The snake looked lazily at them before slithering his way back into the hole, his thick body sliding on the ground.

"Damn, that's big," muttered Scorpius.

"Damn! Bloody hell!" chanted Lorcan as he turned to lick Scorpius' face.

He looked at him, bewildered. Had he just said those things? Oh blimey! After all the times that Lily had reminded him to keep his language free of curse words in front of children, he had just taught two of them to Luna's son, who was living on an almost deserted island in the middle of nowhere, where the other people spoke whatever language they spoke there and certainly not English.

"Damn! Damn!" repeated Lorcan.

"No, no, no," said Scorpius, standing up, with the child in his arms. "That's not a nice word, Lorcan. We don't say that, okay?" He turned his cheek towards him and added, "Here lick me a bit more if you want." Anything to keep that little mouth busy in front of Luna or Rolf.

He let the child lick his cheek and giggle all the way back into the house. And when they walked inside he jumped from Scorpius' arms onto the floor and ran to his mother to wash his hands.

Scorpius went to the sink as well, before collapsing on the chair next to Albus.

"You've got a bit of…" He touched his cheek and Scorpius glared at him. He knew he was covered in saliva.

"He was trying to get a snake out of its hole," muttered Scorpius, brushing away the saliva with the back of his hand. "Those children are dangerous."

Rolf placed a big pot in the middle of the table and smiled as he sat next to Scorpius. "We are so happy to have you here."

"Thank you for having us," replied Albus brightly. "And this smells delicious."

"Ah," said Luna, as she sat at the table with a twin on each side, "help yourselves."

They did, they filled their plates with the stew with prunes and cream and waited impatiently for Lorcan and Lysander to settle down.

"Dig in, guys," encouraged Rolf with a smile. "And let me know if you like it…"

Scorpius glanced at Albus and his Auror partner looked back at him, before dunking a wooden spoon into the stew to take out a generous amount of meat and bring it to his mouth. The meat was tender and tasty and the prunes and cream and something else… wine maybe, were great together. It was delicious.

"This is great, Rolf," complimented Albus, swallowing, "what's the meat? Tastes like chicken."

"Seems beef to me," pointed out Scorpius. "It's delicious though."

Luna and Rolf exchanged an amused smile. "Oh, it's flying fox," replied Rolf calmly, "a speciality of the island."

Scorpius could hear Albus swallowing hard. "Fox?" he asked rather hoarsely.

"Flying fox," corrected Rolf.

Scorpius put down the spoon. "That's like… it's like squirrel, isn't it?" He didn't know if it was worst to be eating fox or squirrel.

"Oh no, Scorpius," said Luna, "it's a bat. The largest bat in the world actually, autochthon of this continent."

Scorpius closed his eyes for a moment. "Are we eating bat?" he asked softly.

Rolf nodded eagerly. "And you just said that it's delicious," he reminded him. "Ah, I'm glad you like it, I was a bit scared that I might have left some teeth in the stew… pay attention to those, by the way."

Scorpius nodded and opened his eyes again. This day was prospecting to become a rather long one…

oooOOOooo

Lily's room was a mess. Yes, it was and she was not ashamed of that at that very moment. There were piles of clothes everywhere, her makeup bag was open and things were thrown everywhere on her bed, her shoes were covering most of the floor and her vanity table was hidden under hair accessories.

Well, she most definitely owned a lot of things.

"Does Miss Lily like her hair _now_?" panted Taffy for the umpteenth time that afternoon.

Lily looked at her reflection and bit her bottom lip. She was sure that if Taffy wasn't a house-elf, but a human being instead, she would have already snapped at Lily to do her hair herself. "I don't know," she replied softly, "do you think I look nice with curls? Won't Rose think that I'm copying her?" She turned her head tentatively from right to left. Her long red hair looked considerably shorter in those neatly styled ringlets. They were rather different from Rose's, though. Whereas her cousin's hair was slightly on the wild side, hers was neat and shiny.

Lily was not sure this would have been the perfect style for a party. What if Scorpius threaded his fingers in her hair like he liked to do when they kissed? He would have ruined her curls and she would have just looked hideous afterwards.

"Miss Lily doesn't worry," said Taffy, looking into her eyes through the mirror, "Miss Lily looks always nice, and Miss Lily is very different from Miss Rose." She patted her shoulder reassuringly and smiled. "And Miss Lily can use magic to fix her hair and stay beautiful all night."

Lily smiled gratefully. "You think so?" she asked.

The elf nodded profusely. "Taffy thinks so," she replied, bringing her brown fingers back to her hair. "And for Miss Lily's front, Taffy was thinking about two braids, one here." She touched from Lily's left temple to the back of her head. "And one here," she added, touching the other side. Then she smiled and giggled, "So Miss Lily doesn't have her beautiful hair in front of her face when she kisses Master Scorpius…"

"Taffy!" Lily giggled back. "We don't only kiss… we talk and we laugh and we dance…" She smiled, thinking about Scorpius and that upcoming evening at the party. They had spent the whole week apart, and she was looking forward to spending all the night with him. Laughing and kissing and enjoying the company of their friends and cousins. "After the hair, can you help me with my makeup, Taffy?" asked Lily softly. "Something light, please. Scorpius always says that Dominique looks funny when she puts on too much makeup…"

"Miss Lily doesn't need makeup to be beautiful," said the elf gently. "Taffy knows Miss Lily needs very little. Miss Lily is beautiful already without makeup."

Lily giggled again, she knew by now that Taffy always complimented her because it was rooted in her being a house-elf to cover her owner with compliments, but still, sometimes Lily convinced herself that she said those lovely things because she really believed them. "And with the dress…" she added. "I want to wear something… something nice, something from which Scorpius won't be able to tear his eyes away… something really nice…"

"Miss Lily is always pretty," sentenced Taffy, "in every dress…"

Lily sighed as Taffy started to braid her hair, her nimble fingers moved swiftly and for a moment she couldn't help thinking about the brothel, when Taffy would prepare her for another night of hard work, as Nott and the girls called it. She lowered her eyes and stared at her tee-shirt and jeans, she was not back at the brothel though. She knew that and that was important. She was home, her home. And she was getting ready to have fun not to sell her body to some old man amongst perfumed sheets.

"Miss Lily doesn't worry," whispered Taffy, "Master Scorpius will only have eyes for her, he always does."

She nodded at her words, before raising her eyes again. "Do you think he does, Taffy?" she asked softly. "Do you think he _always_ does?"

"Of course, Miss Lily," replied Taffy, her eyes big and surprised at her question. "He always does."

"Even these days?" asked Lily again. "I mean, he hasn't come to Grimmauld Place almost all week and he said that I couldn't go to the Manor… Do you think he still likes me? Maybe… maybe he is thinking of leaving me like Emeric left Rose…"

Taffy shook her head vehemently. "No, no, no," she said, "Master Scorpius loves Miss Lily. He always says that."

Lily smiled softly at the elf. "He does, doesn't he?" she murmured. "Maybe I should wear the green dress, don't you think, Taffy? He always says that I look dashing in it." She flushed at the remembered compliment and glanced at Taffy who nodded eagerly at her.

She was just about to suggest that she would wear the silver shoes to go with it, when there was a light knock on the door and she looked at it through the mirror. "Come in," she said.

The door opened slowly and her mother peeked inside, looking at the mess and then at Lily. "Getting ready for tonight?" she asked softly.

Lily nodded and turned her head. "Do you like my hair, Mum?"

"It's beautiful, Lily," she replied quietly. "Do you need help with anything?"

"Taffy is helping me, Mum," she let her know, "but… but if you want to stay, maybe you can help me with the dress…"

She knew that her mother wouldn't have approved of the green dress that she was to wear – _too short, it's February Lily, you are going to get a cold, is that what you want, dear?_ – but she would cast a Warming Charm on herself, and she would have Scorpius to keep her warm.

Her mother walked inside and closed the door at her back. "You are not coming home too late, are you, Lily?" she asked nervously. "You know that I worry, darling…"

Lily smiled at her. "I won't, Mum," she replied, "but you don't have to worry, I can take care of myself."

Her mother smiled at her and nodded. "I know, my sweet, sweet darling," she murmured, "I know you can."

"And if I can't, Scorpius will take care of me," she told her seriously, "and if he can't, Albus will, and if he can't, James will, and if he can't, Rose will…"

Her mother smiled and let out a soft giggle. "I know," she told her, "my daughter will be absolutely fine tonight." She smiled as she started to fold some of the clothes on the floor. "Maybe when you come home, we can have a cup of tea and you can tell me everything about the party, Lily."

She nodded. Of course her mother just wanted an excuse to wait for her to come back, but Lily liked their late night talks, they could talk for hours and hours and Lily never felt closer to her mother than during those talks. "Mum," she called as Taffy gave her the last touches to her ringlets and to her braids.

"Yes, Lily?"

"I'd like Scorpius to come to Grimmauld Place after the party," she told her, "I miss him. I don't know what's wrong with him, but he doesn't want to come here and he said it was because he missed his mother, but he wouldn't let me go to the Manor either. I… I don't know what to think and… I miss him…"

Her mother seemed to stiffen slightly as she listened to her. She curved her lips upwards in a nervous smile and bit her bottom lip. "Of course he can come, dear," she told her, "and I'm sure there's nothing wrong with him. Has he… has he said anything? Did anything happen?"

Lily shook her head. "No," she replied softly. "I swear, nothing happened… maybe…" She looked at her mother and bit her bottom lip. "Maybe he's getting tired of me?"

Her mother took a deep breath. "I hardly think so, Lily," she told her gently, "he loves you more than he loves anything else. I'm sure… I'm sure there's nothing wrong with him." She looked away from Lily and suddenly she seemed rather sad. "He loves you a lot," she repeated. "And of course he can come here tonight. I miss him too, you know…"

"You do?" asked Lily, a grin splitting her face into two.

Her mother nodded. "Of course, he's like a son… like Al and James… to me," she murmured, "I think he—oh! Lily!"

Lily looked up at her mother from the spot she was now kneeling on the floor. She had thrown herself at her, tightening her arms around her waist.

"Miss Lily will ruin her hair if she doesn't fix it with magic first!" fretted Taffy, jumping down from the stool and going to fluff up a little her ringlets.

"I love you, Mum," said Lily, looking up at her.

Her mother's eyes started to shine with tears. "I love you too, Lily," she choked out as she hugged her back.

oooOOOooo

"We need to talk to them about Toots sooner or later," said Scorpius as he swam lazily around Albus. "I mean, that's why we came all the way to the other side of the world…"

"Hmm," Albus replied, fluctuating on the clear waters of the Pacific Ocean. "I think we should stay here a week or tell my father we are investigating… I could do with a little holiday…"

"And eat bat for a week?" snorted Scorpius. "I hardly think so."

"Please, you loved it," chuckled Albus, "you went for seconds…"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm an Auror, I have been taught how to endure things like… like that…"

"It was delicious," murmured Albus beatifically, his hands tapping the water slightly. "I had three plates."

Scorpius looked at the beach where the Scamanders were sitting under a palm tree. They looked rather happy, covered up to their hairline in a thick layer of sun lotion, wearing their swimming suits and looking as their children tried to throw coconuts at each other without succeeding.

"Al," murmured Scorpius, "do you think those children are safe with Luna and Rolf?"

"Of course they are," sighed Albus, "they are their parents, Scorp, they know how to take care of them…"

"Don't Scorp me, Al," grunted Scorpius, "and they look a bit… lay back as parents, you know… what if their children get bitten by some animal or if they get hit by a coconut in the head… I mean, that wouldn't—what?"

Albus had raised his head from the water and started to swim around Scorpius. "Oh my," he murmured, gaping at him, "you are so sensitive and caring and filled with feelings… you are either turning into Lily or you're pregnant…"

"I hate you," grumbled Scorpius, trying to swim away without succeeding, since his Auror partner went to swim in front of him.

"No, you don't," chuckled Albus, "I'm your almost brother-in-law, you love me."

Scorpius felt his heart skip a beat at those words. "What?" he whispered. Had Mrs Potter told him something? Did he know why he wasn't going to Grimmauld Place? Was Albus just having him on with all those questions about what was wrong with him? Did he already know?

Albus shrugged a shoulder under the water. "Well, it'll happen sooner or later, right? I mean you've been together longer than any other couple I know and Lily keeps saying that she—hey! Scorpius! I was talking here!"

But Scorpius was already swimming back to shore. For a split second he had thought that Albus knew about the ring and about his will to ask Lily to marry him. For a split second he had actually felt rather relieved to have someone to talk to. Maybe Albus would have understood him, maybe he would have said that his mother was freaking out for nothing. After all, Scorpius loved Lily like he had never loved anybody else in all his life. Not only another girl, but just simply nobody else. She was everything to him and surely people noticed, otherwise Albus wouldn't keep pestering him about whatever was wrong with him.

He reached the shore and walked out of the water and under the scorching sun that didn't quite agree with his fair complexion. The sand was boiling under his feet and he hurried to the shadow of the palms where the Scamanders were relaxing.

"Nice water?" asked Rolf calmly as Scorpius scampered on the beach and cursed under his breath.

"Nice and cool," he replied, eyeing Luna and Rolf, "I don't know how you can manage to stay there. Aren't you melting?"

Luna smiled at him. "We like to be nice and toasty," she replied calmly.

_More like nice and baked_, thought Scorpius, raising an eyebrow at her. He stared as Albus walked out of the water as well and jumped here and there like a Pogrebin. He was rather comical, really. But probably Scorpius had been rather comical himself a few seconds before.

"Hot… hot… hot…" was chanting Albus, as if that would have helped cooling down the sand.

"Rather hot, yes," murmured Luna thoughtfully.

Albus reached Scorpius and grabbed his arm to manage to jump behind him and into the shadow of the palm. "Why don't we all go back into the water for the questions?" he asked, glancing longingly at the blue waters in front of them.

"It's actually not a bad a idea," murmured Scorpius.

"You sound surprised," Albus told him, crossing his wet arms on his dripping chest.

"Always when you say something intelligent," grinned Scorpius.

Lorcan – or was that Lysander? – walked towards them with a rather smallish coconut in his hands, his plump legs swaying in the motion.

"What is it, Lorcan?" asked Scorpius gently, kneeling in front of the child. "That's a nice coconut you've got there, pay attention not to make it fall on your feet, that hurts, okay?"

Lorcan nodded and made it to throw it into the sand, but it barely landed only a few inches from them, making Scorpius pale at how close that was to the child's feet.

"No, Lorcan," said Scorpius severely, pulling the child to sit on his thigh, "that's dangerous. First we have to see where Lysander is, because if he was closer than that you would have hit him! And second we need to pay attention to our feet, we don't want it to fall on our poor toes, do we?"

Lorcan shook his head meekly and Scorpius sighed and patted his bottom to get him off his leg. He stood up and brushed the sand away from his legs, then raised his eyes on the Scamanders and stopped. They were looking at him and smiling softly.

"What?" asked Scorpius feebly. Did he have something on his shoulder? Some dear little creature that he wouldn't have liked one bit?

"You are good with the toddlers, Scorpius," said Luna gently. "Lily must be happy."

"She must be indeed," chuckled Albus, "she said that she wants to have a dozen children with Scorpius…"

Luna smiled and fanned her face a little. "That's nice, but I was talking about her job as a teacher. Is she still enjoying to teach to those little darlings?"

Scorpius nodded and smiled. "She's very good, you know, she was made employee of the month twice," replied Scorpius.

"I'm glad to hear that," said Rolf, as he grabbed a passing Lysander in his arms and kissed him soundly on the cheek. The boy curled in his father's embrace and yawned.

Luna looked at them and then back at Scorpius and Albus. "If you want to ask us something, you might want to do that now, because after they sleep for a while they usually wake up and cry and cry until we feed them," she told them, "it's more convenient if we talk while they sleep." She opened her arms and Lorcan went to her, yawning as well and settling in her mother's lap.

Scorpius glanced at Albus and his Auror partner looked back at him, before shrugging a shoulder and sitting on the beach. _Certainly that's the most unusual investigation I've ever conducted_, thought Scorpius as he sat down next to Albus. He usually wasn't wearing his swimming trunks and feeling on the verge of fainting because of the heat when he asked witnesses about facts.

"Right," said Albus as they looked at the Scamanders. "We want to ask you if you knew Tilden Toots and if you might have any information about what he was working on before his death."

Luna nodded thoughtfully and Rolf and herself exchanged another glance. "We knew him," replied Rolf, "we know most of our colleagues."

"Colleagues?" asked Scorpius, furrowing his brow. "He was a gardener and you are two Magizoologists."

Luna nodded again. "Yes, but there aren't many people interested in plants or beasts in this world, we tend to know each other's research and exchange letters and ideas and meet up every now and then."

"So… do you write to Uncle Charlie?" asked Albus, scratching his chest where the sand was irritating his pale Englishman skin.

Rolf chuckled. "We do, but he rarely replies," he told them, "he is far too busy with those magnificent dragons of his to reply to our enquires about Dugbogs or Glumbumbles."

"But you wrote to Toots," pointed out Scorpius.

Luna's hair fell into her eyes as she cocked her head. "We did," she replied, "he was quite an interesting man, always working with plants and flowers, and sometimes interested into fairies and gnomes…"

"And what was he working on, specifically?" asked Albus. "I mean, lately, anything… I don't know, anything worth dying for?"

"Everything in Magizoology is worth dying for," pointed out Rolf seriously. "I think… what did he say again, Luna?"

Luna kissed a sleeping Lorcan and pushed him against her chest. "I think it had something to do with orchids," she said, "he just wrote something about an orchid in his last message."

"Something about an orchid?" asked Scorpius. "What orchid? Where?"

Rolf shifted Lysander on his legs. "Oh, we don't know," he replied, "orchids grow pretty much everywhere…"

"Except for Greenland," pointed out Luna, "and Antarctica."

"Well, that narrows down our search," grunted Scorpius. "Do you still have the letter?"

Rolf laughed softly. "We would, if we hadn't finished the toilet paper right after the missive arrived," he let them know.

"Great," sighed Albus. "What's the deal with orchids, though? Are they used for some particular potion or essence?"

"Usually not," replied Luna, "Muggles make perfumes out of them, and sometimes they use them to cook, but nothing special."

"And what about Professor Sprout?" asked Scorpius, feeling rather confident that Luna and Rolf didn't have many more interesting things to say about orchids. "Do you think that was an accident?"

"The scurvy-grass thing?" asked Rolf. "Probably, we don't know, we hadn't communicated with her in ages."

Luna sighed. "She was quite old," she said, "she probably mistook it for chamomile."

Scorpius pushed a bit of sand with his feet. "That's what Professor Longbottom said," he murmured.

"They are quite similar plants," assured Rolf, "even to an expert's eye, they are difficult to tell apart."

"Hey, what about Neville?" asked Albus suddenly. "He said that Professor Sprout and Toots didn't know each other, but you just said that everybody knows each other in the world of Herbology and Magizoology!"

Luna looked at Rolf and then at Albus, her dreamy smile always stretching her lips. "Neville is quite the solitary type when it's up to do some research," she replied, "he always writes, but it's never about plants and flowers, it's always about Hannah and the students and the Leaky Cauldron." She looked at Scorpius and smiled, "We know that Lily was particularly good at Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts, right?"

"She was good in everything," replied Scorpius softly, "but yes, _particularly_ good in those things."

"And you were good in Potions, weren't you, Scorpius?" asked Rolf.

Well, apparently there was no confidentiality rule for the Hogwarts Professors. He nodded.

"Marvellous," said Luna. "If you don't have any other question for us, how about we all go back into the water?" She fanned her sweaty décolleté and moved Lorcan a bit from her chest. "I think I'd rather enjoy a dip in the water."

She stood up and placed Lorcan on the beach towel, right next to where Rolf was depositing Lysander. She threw her straw hat to the ground and turned to Albus and Scorpius. "Are you coming?" she asked gently, starting to untie her bathing suit on her back.

"Is it okay if we leave the children alone?" asked Scorpius. "Isn't it dangerous?"

Rolf grinned. "Newt will look after them," he let him know, hooking his fingers into the waistband of his swimming trunks. "And we won't swim too far away."

Luna shrugged the bathing suit from her shoulders and stood completely naked in front of them. Rolf didn't seem fazed by his wife showing her private parts to the two young men, and au contraire, brought down his swimming trunks and discarded them on the sand, remaining completely nude as well.

Scorpius turned to look at Albus. "They are naked," he murmured in disbelief.

"They most certainly are," replied Albus almost amused.

"That's not funny," snapped Scorpius, as Albus stood up and hooked his fingers in his swimming trunks. "What are you doing?"

Albus winked at him as he brought down his trunks. "I'm sure that if Lily was here you wouldn't think twice about getting naked," he told him as he walked to the sea to join the couple.

Scorpius bit his bottom lip. Surely if Lily was there and completely naked, he would never get naked himself, for his erection would already be too obvious through his own trunks, and he certainly didn't need to scare anybody off with it.

He glanced one last time to the children and shook his head as he stood up and started walking towards the beach on the boiling hot sand. He stopped in the shadow of a palm tree and sighed. "Oh, blimey," he muttered, before discarding his swimming trunks and running into the water after the other three.

oooOOOooo

Ginny turned to look at the fireplace from over her latest article on the match that saw the Magpies beating Puddlemere with an embarrassing final score of 540 to 320. Rough times for Oliver Wood and his team of well seasoned players – probably too much seasoned…

The hearth coloured with green flames and one after the other Ron, Hermione, Rose and Hugo walked into her living room, smiling and brushing ash from their heads and clothes and onto Ginny's rug.

"What—"

Ron raised a finger to stop her before she could question what was going on and smiled at her. "Harry invited us," he told her. "Well, he invited Hermione and me, Rose and Hugo are here to escort Lily to the ball."

"It's a party, Dad," sighed Hugo, "and I'm not planning to dance at all."

Hermione shook her head as she crossed the living room and went to sit next to Ginny, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "No," she murmured, "he is planning to eat everything Angelina has cooked."

"Where's Lily?" asked Rose, brushing some Floo Powder from her pretty blue dress, that matched the blue laces in her curls. "Is she ready? Does she need any help with… anything?"

Ginny shook her head. "Taffy took care of everything," she said, "but Rosie, dear, she wants to wear the green dress and I tried to tell her that it was too cold for that, but she wouldn't—"

"I love the green dress," Rose cut her off with a smile, "she looks so cute in it."

Ginny stiffened slightly. "Well, it seems that nobody cares that my daughter is going to freeze her bits off," she said dryly.

"I'll cast a Warming Charm on her," said Rose, walking past the couch and towards the stairs. "Is she in her room?"

"Yes, but Rosie, it's really quite…" Her voice trailed away as she heard Rose's steps on the stairs and then the two girl screaming in excitement and complimenting each other's hair and outfits and shoes before the door closed at their backs.

"Oh my word!" chuckled Hugo with a high-pitched tone of voice. "Daaaaad, do you like my hair? And my trousers? And my shirt?"

"Shut up, Hugo," replied Ron, "it took you three hours to get ready."

Hugo flushed only slightly and shrugged a shoulder, before plummeting on an armchair. "Where're James and Al, Auntie Ginny?" he asked, smoothing his shirt.

"Al should have just come back from Papua New Guinea with Scorpius," she told them, "I'm afraid they are sleeping though, they left this morning at two."

"What?" asked Hugo, eyes wide. "That's crazy."

"It's ten hours difference," pointed out Hermione.

Ginny nodded in agreement. "And James should arrive any minute," she told him, "what time is the party starting again, Hugo?"

"Eight," he replied, "which is in about ten minutes."

"You are going to look after Lily, aren't you, Hugo?" asked Ginny severely.

Hugo groaned slightly. "To be quite fair, Auntie Ginny, I heard that there's a queue for that," he replied with a grin. "James and Rose and Scorpius are already taking care of Lily."

"And you are going to take care of her as well, and Albus too for that matter, and Roxy, Louis, Molly and—"

Harry walked into the living room, and went to pat Ron's shoulder. "Hey guys," he said to them, before going to kiss Hermione's forehead. "Are you ready for a wild night of Wizard's Chess?"

Hugo smothered a cough that sounded like, "Old people," into a cushion, but before any of the older people there could glare at him, the door upstairs opened and a loud chattering seemed to fill every room of Grimmauld Place.

"…and I thought you wouldn't have liked my hair, because it looks a bit like yours and I was afraid that—"

"It looks ten times better than mine, you don't worry, Lils, I'm sure that Scorpius won't be able to tear his eyes from you," said Rose, "and you have to lend me Taffy once in a while…"

"Uncle Ron!" Lily ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. Apart from Charlie, who always had the best gifts and the most interesting stories, Ron was definitely Lily's favourite uncle. Not that she had ever said anything, but Lily loved to laugh and Ron was good at causing some hilarity.

Ron picked her up and made her twirl. "Oh my," he said, placing her back down, "didn't you grow from last time?"

She beamed, but shook her head. "No," she told him, "probably you shrunk a bit, though!"

"Hey, only old people shrink!"

"Exactly," laughed Hugo.

"Hi, Uncle Harry," said Rose, going to hug him. He leaned closer to her and whispered something in her ear and she nodded seriously, before glancing at Lily. Harry looked at Ginny and she smiled gratefully at her husband.

Yes, Rose was a great Auror, and so was James, and Hugo and Albus and Scorpius, and pretty much everybody she knew.

"Are we going now?" asked Hugo rather impatiently.

"James isn't here yet," pointed out Lily as she went to kiss Hermione's cheek and finally Hugo's. "We have to wait for him."

"Exactly, Lily," said Ginny with a smile.

Hermione placed a hand on her arm and smiled subtly at her, before turning to where Lily was sitting on the armrest of Hugo's armchair, her green, taffeta dress falling gracefully around her legs as she swung her feet and talked to Hugo in hushed tones about Merlin knew what.

"Are Scorpius and Al meeting you at the party?" asked Hermione to no one in particular.

Lily nodded. "Yes," she replied with a grin, "I can't wait to hear everything about Papua…"

But before the others could agree the fireplace lit up again and James stumbled through it and into the living room. He shook the Floo Powder from his clothes and then he was looking at the people there and asking, "Am I late?" But the three of them were just pushing him back into the fireplace and then they were laughing and saying goodbye to their parents.

"Don't be back too late…" said Ginny, but Lily was already gone through green flames and she just stared in front of her at the empty hearth.

oooOOOooo

"Lily has such a kind heart." Luna's words were sincere, even though the two identical sweaters that her goddaughter had knitted for Lorcan and Lysander were far too warm for either Papua or Australia.

"Indeed," replied Rolf, raising his two new notebooks with the covers covered in pictures of their family and Lily and Scorpius and the Potters and the Weasleys. "What did she send you?"

"Earrings that she made herself," said Luna, turning to show him the two red hearts made with painted little seeds.

Rolf nodded. "They are beautiful," he told her, "she surely takes after her godmother when it's up to her creativity."

Luna smiled and nodded. A distant bell from the village signalled midnight and she finally went to tuck Lorcan and Lysander and Newt in their bed, before walking to the bed and lying down.

She took a deep breath and turned towards Rolf. "Do you think we did the right thing?"

Rolf shed his nightgown on a chair and went to lie next to his wife. "Telling them about the orchid?" he asked back thoughtfully. "Yes, it was vague. They will never understand, but we couldn't just let them come all the way here without giving them a little piece of information…"

"Shouldn't we have told them more though?" asked Luna softly

Rolf took a deep breath. "I suppose that if the Maestro had wanted to tell them about the flower, they would have already known. Probably he thinks that he'll manage to take care of those people without the aid of the Aurors," he said softly.

"But Pomona and Tilden…"

Rolf nodded. "I know," he whispered, "I think we should get ready to travel back to England if we are summoned by the Order."

"I just hope that those two will pay attention," murmured Luna, her head finally resting on the pillow. "Good night, Rolf."

"Good night, Luna," he replied, and soon they were both falling asleep, exhausted because of the long day spent at the beach.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes:** Thank you to all of my dear reviewers, you make my day! This might be a bit cheesy. Just a little bit. I tried not to make it too cheesy, but I'm not sure I succeeded. Sorry in case it is too cheesy for you. (I said cheesy so many times, I am out of control!)

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

There were many more people at Roxanne's party than James had anticipated. Not that it was a problem, if he squinted his eyes and looked at those slightly hipster guys from the radio or from back at Hogwarts, he could almost recognise all of them. All good people, really, his mother had no reason to worry, but there were quite a lot more people than he had expected there.

Roxanne's new flat was big and fancy and very girly. Bigger than what James had imagined, much fancier than he had expected and just as girly as he had suspected it would be. There were quite a bit of rooms and they were all filled with people, making it all the more difficult to keep an eye on his little sister.

To top that, Rose had disappeared. She looked dazzling in her blue dress, and James had just had the time to point Josh out to her before Roxanne had come and whisked her away. He suspected that they had to tell each other everything about boys and break-ups and makeup and whatever – rainbows and unicorns probably – but at the same time he couldn't help thinking how rude the owner of that flat had been.

Roxanne had barely greeted Hugo and James and kissed Lily three times – the way they did on the continent – and then just grabbed Rose's wrist into her hand and dragged her away, babbling that they would only be a minute, to please enjoy the buffet and tell Albus when he arrived not to finish the canapés.

"Why don't we get something to drink as we wait for Al and Scorpius?" James asked Lily, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

She nodded and sighed. "Do you think it'll take them long?" she asked him. "I mean, I know they are tired, but… if Scorpius really is too knackered we could leave the party a bit early, right? He could just come, have some fun and then we could go home and relax… Right?"

James smiled as he filled two glasses with pumpkin juice and offered one to Lily. She looked at the liquid and wrinkled her nose.

"James, I'd like some Butterbeer," she told him seriously.

"Yes, and then Mum will hex me," he replied calmly.

Lily pouted and crossed her arms on her chest. "Please," she told him, "students have Butterbeers at Hogsmeade. Underage students."

James glanced at her askew before sighing and placing the glasses back down. "Alright," he said, "but don't get drunk and start puke all over, okay?"

She rolled her eyes only half-heartedly. "Promise," she replied, raising two fingers in a gesture of honour. "I've had some already, you know," she told him, "at the Manor, with Mrs and Mister Malfoy, they say there's nothing wrong with drinking a bit of healthy alcohol…"

"Oh yeah?" asked James amusedly. He pushed a half a pint of Butterbeer into her hands and looked as she licked the foam at the top. "And what did Scorpius say?"

"He joined us and we had a drinking contest," she told him thoughtfully. "But I fell asleep after two pints."

James laughed. "And who won?"

"I have no clue," replied Lily, "Scorpius still doesn't want to tell me…"

"Probably his mother then," chuckled James. His eyes travelled for the room filled with people his eyes finally resting on two tall guys who seemed deep in conversation. "No! I can't believe that Bran and John would come tonight," he murmured, "I thought they were on duty."

Lily nudged him softly with her elbow. "Go talk to them," she smiled, "I'm sure Scorpius and Al will be here soon… and maybe… maybe I can go and find Dom and Molly, I haven't seen them yet."

"Awesome idea, Lils," said James, "and when you find them, you come and tell me where they are, because I want to say hi as well." He gave her a one arm hug and kissed her head before walking to where his ex-flatmates were standing and talking about latest investigation.

oooOOOooo

Lily knew everybody at that party.

And everybody seemed to know Lily. Well, they were mostly her cousins and friends of her cousins, but they all greeted her and smiled and hugged her and kissed her cheeks and wondered where Scorpius was. A tall guy with blue eyes even asked her if she had dumped him and was looking for someone better, but Fred came to her rescue and dragged the guy away.

"She's little, but lethal," joked Fred, "you should see her hexes, you wouldn't walk straight for a week."

Lily giggled as she kept walking around and around, trying to find her cousins to at least say hi to them. But she didn't know the flat, nor Roxanne had showed her around. She had just come and dragged Rose away from them, and Hugo had disappeared and he probably was having his fair share of canapés at that moment. Lily was hungry too, but first and foremost she would say hi, and then she would wait for Scorpius and then they would eat and dance and snog all night long. Yes, she had everything planned out.

"Hey Lily," a short girl with a flowery skirt stopped to kiss her cheeks.

"Hi Miriam," replied Lily.

"How are you?" she asked, before pulling some locks of dark blue hair behind her ear and looking around her. "Is… is your brother here?"

"James?" asked Lily. Well, of course she meant James, that was her ex-boyfriend, surely she didn't mean—

"No, Albus," she replied softly, "I just wanted to say hi…"

Lily furrowed her brow. "Well, he is coming," she replied, "James is already here, though. He's in the living room."

Miriam nodded and smiled at her. "And you are wandering all alone for this lush flat?"

"I'm looking for Roxy and my cousins, but I don't seem able to find any of them," she sighed.

"Oh, to be honest I think they are all in Roxy's room," she said, "I heard Rose kind of crying… I think… they were talking about Emeric so… Roxy's room is the last one down the corridor. The one on the left." She tucked some more hair behind her ear and sighed. "I'm going to go and get something to drink, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yes," replied Lily as she already started to walk towards Roxanne's room. Finally! She had so many things to tell them. From her episode with Mr Whittle to Scorpius' rather distant disposition towards her. And she just wanted to sit a bit with them and chat for a while, between her job and their jobs, she just didn't see enough of her cousins anymore.

The door was slightly ajar and yes, she was definitely in the right place because Roxanne's, Rose's and Dominique's voices could be heard from the other side. She wanted to push the door open and walk in there and go to hug Dominique and ask her everything about her new job at the Ministry and about that boyfriend of hers who seemed so nice and yet Auntie Fleur didn't like him at all…

"…you have to get over him, girl," was saying Roxanne, "come on, you're at a party. Enjoy it, find someone to snog and snog him in front of your ex-boyfriend whose name we shall not say."

"I still can't believe you invited him, Roxy," complained Rose, sniffling loudly, "was it so difficult to lose his invitation?"

"Sorry," replied Roxanne, as she applied some fresh lipstick in front of a mirror, "you know he's second cousin once removed of a friend of the sister-in-law of that guy that works at the radio with Malcolm, I could not _not_ invite him!"

"Obviously," chuckled Dominique, and Lily couldn't help giggling too. "You know the trick, Rose?"

"I do know the trick," she sighed, "I have to be more passionate."

Dominique shook her head. "No," she replied, "you have to recognise that nobody is perfect. Whoever you'll share your life with is not going to be perfect, you are not perfect, and neither will be your relationship."

"I didn't think my relationship with Emeric was perfect," pointed out Rose.

Roxanne turned to look at her. "Oh come on," she said, "we know what the problem is here." She took a deep breath and added, "Lily and Scorpius."

Lily felt her heart race in her chest. Lily and Scorpius? Were they a problem to them? What? Why? What were they talking about? Everybody was so nice with her and with Scorpius, everybody seemed to love them. And they were nice to everybody. Sure, Scorpius sometimes had some little quarrels with Albus, but they loved each other deep down. How could the two of them have been a problem to them? She leaned her hand on the wall and held her breath as she kept listening.

"What?" asked Rose. "How are they a problem?"

"It's because they have this perfect relationship," sighed Dominique, "they love each other, they never seem to tire of each other, they are always happy…"

Lily's heart slowed down as a soft smile stretched her lips.

"And to think that they have never even… _you know_," murmured Rose.

Roxanne nodded. "I know, Albus told me," she said, "that's crazy. Honestly, do you think it's her or him?"

"I don't have a clue," replied Dominique. "It's so weird though, because nowadays, that's all a boy wants from a girl: sex. I mean, a bit of romanticism is okay too, but what they really want is to have sex."

"Well, it's fun," pointed out Roxy, winking at her cousins.

"Do you think it's fun for Lily, though?" whispered Rose. "I mean, after the brothel and stuff… do you think she finds it fun?"

"I don't know," replied Roxanne thoughtfully, "but what I know is that Scorpius must love her a great deal to still be with her after all this time and not have done anything."

"Well," said Rose, "now that I think about it, James was pointing out something the other day… he said that it's not exactly as if their relationship is going that well…"

Lily's eyes widened as she kept listening to them. Rose was right. Their relationship wasn't going that well at that moment, Scorpius said that he wanted to be at the Manor with his mother, but… but he just didn't want to be close to her. Was it… was it because they weren't having sex? Was he going to leave her because they weren't making love? Was that all her fault?

"What do you mean?" asked Dominique.

"Well, he hadn't gone to Grimmauld Place for most of the week," she told them, "Lily said that it's because he wants to spend time with his mother, but please… I think she believes him just because she is completely gone around him, but I mean, it doesn't take a genius to understand that he doesn't want to spend too much time with her anymore…"

Lily's heart was racing again, her lips were trembling now and her breath was coming out in short puffs, as if she had run a thousand miles.

"Oh that's so sad," said Dominique, and it felt as if she really thought that. "I hope he lets her down easily, because if that's the case, I'm sure she'll be devastated…"

"He's just like any other man," sighed Roxanne, "all he wants is some action, and if he doesn't get it with someone, well, he will most certainly try with someone else…" She smiled and added, "He is just slower than other guys. I mean, five years…"

Rose nodded. "I'm sure girls will be flocking around him the moment he breaks up with Lily," she sighed, "I think I should practice my Bogey Bat Hex, just in case…"

"Oh, we are going to beat him to a pulp if—"

Two hands went to cover Lily's eyes and a soft voice whispered in her ear, "Did Mum and Dad never tell you that it's not nice to eavesdrop?"

Lily's heart skipped a beat as she recognised Albus' voice. If her brother was there, then Scorpius must have been there too. She wriggled free from his arms and turned to look at him.

"Hey Lils, Luna and Rolf said that the presents—are you okay?"

She nodded stiffly. "Where's Scorpius?" she asked urgently. "Is he here?"

Albus snorted. "Well, it's nice to see you too," he grunted, "and the trip was okay, we skinny-dipped in the ocean and I sunburned both shoulders and had bat for lunch and pork for dinner… it was a fun adventure, thank you for asking."

She bit her bottom lip and murmured a, "Sorry. I'm happy you had a fun trip…"

Albus sighed, obviously not believing a word she was saying. "Scorpius is in the living room, he was looking for something to drink, apparently the heat of Papua had perched his skin…"

"Thank you," whispered Lily.

She started walking briskly towards the living room. People were laughing and talking and now there was some music playing, but Lily didn't see or hear any of them, she just kept walking, her hands fidgeting at her sides as she looked for Scorpius everywhere. He was not near the buffet table, Hugo and Louis were there though, and Louis went to hug her and ask her if she was alright, because she seemed rather pale, really.

"Oh," replied Lily, bringing a hand to her face, "am I… am I ugly?"

"What?" asked Louis, taken aback. "If you're ugly, Lily than I don't know what to call the other girls." He smiled at her, but she just nodded and thanked him, before keeping on wandering for the living room. Honestly the place wasn't as immense as everybody said, it was just crowded with people now, and everybody was moving and some people were already dancing and she just started to fret that she would turn and find Scorpius kissing another girl any minute now.

But she didn't. Scorpius was standing next to Emeric and they were talking and drinking some pumpkin juice from big, plastic cups. She felt her heart skip a beat when she took notice that he wasn't looking for her, that he seemed perfectly happy without her, even though they hadn't spent the whole day together as he had promised. His nose was purple for the sun of Papua, and he looked rather sleepy.

She bit her bottom lip and pushed back the tears at the thought that he was about to dump her. She wouldn't have let him, not before she let him know that he was everything for her, and that she had been a self-centred git. But no more now… no, now it was all about Scorpius.

She knew how to have sex.

She would have showed him everything she knew.

He wouldn't have left her.

oooOOOooo

"Your nose looks like it's going to peel to its cartilage in the upcoming days," pointed out Emeric, staring at him.

"I guess not everybody has a sun-friendly complexion such as yourself, Zabini," replied Scorpius sourly, "and I forgot the sun lotion."

Emeric laughed heartily. "You idiot."

Scorpius rolled his eyes at his friend, but before he could reply anything saucy to him, a pair of skinny arms locked around his torso and a mass of ringlets was pushed against his chest. He was taken by surprise for the briefest moment, his glass of pumpkin juice almost ending on the floor, before Lily turned her head upwards to look at him and he couldn't help grinning at her.

"Hey," he said rather breathily.

She didn't reply, she stood on tiptoes and kissed him. Her hands grabbed the back of his shirt, and she licked the seam of his lips to ask for access to his mouth. She was passionate and almost urgent, and Scorpius thought that she must have really missed him that day. Well, it was good, because he had missed her back and thus he proceeded to kiss her with equal force, treading his fingers in her fine ringlets and tilting her head back. She moaned against his lips and pushed herself with force against his body.

He backed away a little as she pressed with force against his groin, his lips leaving hers. "Hmm," he hummed, planting butterfly kisses all over her lips, "someone missed me…"

"There should be a rule against kissing in front of recently single people," grunted Emeric, "especially kissing like that…"

"Scorpius, let's go home," Lily murmured urgently, grabbing the front of his shirt. "Please, can we go home?"

Scorpius looked at her with his eyebrows high on his forehead. "What?" he asked in disbelief. "I only just got here, Lily. I thought you wanted to dance all night…" He grinned softly and kissed her cheek.

She shook her head frantically. "I want to go home, please," she begged, "with you. Please, Scorpius, please…"

"Lily." He cupped her cheeks and made her look at him. Her brown eyes seemed upset by something he couldn't quite understand. Did something happen? "Are you alright? Is everything okay?"

"Merlin, Malfoy! A girl is asking you to go home with her and you have to question her?" grunted Emeric. "If Rose had told me that she wanted to go home with me at least once, I—"

"Mind your own business, Zabini," snapped Scorpius, hugging Lily protectively with an arm. He looked down at her and furrowed his brow. "I thought you wanted to stay here… what happened to the _I want to dance and snog you all night_?"

She bit her bottom lip. "I… I changed my mind," she whispered, "please, Scorpius, can we go home? Not… not my home, yours…"

"The Manor? What?" He couldn't understand. There was something wrong there. Something must have happened to her. "Lily, what… what's wrong?"

"Oh, you found her, Scorpius," said James as he came to refill his glass of Butterbeer. "He was looking for you everywhere, Lils."

"She wants to go home," murmured Scorpius, looking at James. He could feel Lily's head pushing against his chest, her hands gripping his arms through his shirt, her hip brushing insistently against his groin.

"What?" asked James, visibly surprised. "You were so excited to come to the party, Lily…"

"I changed my mind," she repeated. "Please, Scorpius, let's go!"

Scorpius looked at James. Albus had told him that James and Rose were supposed to look after her that night, and he too was allowed to do that, apparently. But maybe he could take her to the Manor, ask her what was wrong and finally go back to the party. After all, all he wanted was to spend time with her after a week apart, surely they could have danced and snogged and cuddled at the Manor as well – and in the privacy of his home, all those activities would have been much less embarrassing than in front of his friends and her cousins and brothers. Especially in front of Albus…

"Hey Lily," giggled Dominique as she walked up to them with Roxanne and Rose. "I haven't seen you in ages. How are you, dear?"

Lily seemed to not wanting to let Scorpius go to go and say hi to Dominique, and Scorpius couldn't help finding even that behaviour highly unusual. "I'm good," she murmured, giving the hint of a smile.

"Is everything alright?" asked Dominique, frowning.

Scorpius looked at her and shrugged a shoulder. "She wants to go home," he told her.

"What?" exclaimed Rose. "Your mum said that you've talked about coming here for the whole afternoon. Are you not feeling well?"

"Well, look who's faking interest in another human being," murmured Emeric loud enough for all of them to hear.

The little crowd of Potters and Weasleys turned to glare at him, and Scorpius couldn't help joining them. He was an idiot to say those things in front of Rose's family.

Rose's hands balled into fists. "I care about every human being," she snapped.

"That's not what I remember about you…"

Rose turned all red and Albus seemed to wanting to step between the two, but it was James went to stand in front of Emeric. "Vanish, Zabini," he snarled. "Before I hex your sorry arse."

Roxanne grabbed James' arm. "Hey, James calm down," she told him, before turning to Emeric. "Find somebody else to importune, please," she added icily.

Emeric glanced at Rose, biting his plump lip for a moment before grunting and walking away.

James turned to Rose. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

She nodded and smiled.

"I think it's time we find Josh, alright?" he asked her with a smirk. "And a good position where you can sit and snog him silly."

Roxanne frowned. "What?" she asked in disbelief. "You let James help you in your vendetta towards your ex? And you didn't ask me? Well, good luck with that!"

"You can help too," James assured her. "Or you can find me someone to snog…"

Lily tugged at Scorpius' shirt. "Can we go home, Scorpius?" she asked again.

He looked at her with concern and finally nodded. Just to see what was wrong with her, then they would have come back there. He cleared his throat and looked at Lily's cousins and brothers. "Guys," he called them, "Lily and I will run to the Manor for a second, okay? We'll be right back."

Lily grasped his arms. "I don't want to come back," she whispered, confirming Scorpius' suspicions that something was definitely wrong there.

"Right," he murmured. "If… if you don't see us here, we'll be at Grimmauld Place, okay?"

James and Rose looked at him with concern, but Scorpius tried to smile apologetically, after all they were just going to the Manor, she was safe, safer than at that party, and if Mrs Potter didn't like the fact that Scorpius brought her daughter to the Manor, well… nobody had to tell her, really. He wasn't going to ask her to marry him without Lily's parents blessing, he certainly didn't want to be the cause of a rift between mother and daughter. He suffered enough for his relationship with his father.

"Can we go?" insisted Lily.

"Yes, yes, we are going," murmured Scorpius back. "We'll see you later," he told the others and with a smile he guided her towards the fireplace and gave her a generous fistful of Floo Powder. "See you in a bit," he whispered to her as she walked into the hearth and disappeared.

oooOOOooo

Draco and Astoria were rather startled to see the fireplace filling with green flames. Even more so when Lily walked out and looked at them with concern as she worried her pretty pink lips between her teeth.

For a moment, Astoria thought that something had happened to her son. Why else would Lily be there, instead than the party, and why would she look so disconcerted? But then the fireplace became alive with flames again and Scorpius stepped out next to her.

"Hello," said Astoria softly, closing the book in her lap. "We thought you were at the party." She looked at Lily and smiled. "Hello Lily," she told her gently. "I haven't seen you in a long time."

She smiled shyly at her. "Hello Mrs Malfoy," she replied, "and Mister Malfoy." She walked to them and went to kiss Astoria first and then Draco's cheek, his pale complexion flushing slightly.

"Hello Lily," said Draco, "was the party too boring for the two of you?"

She shook her head and walked back to Scorpius, wrapping an arm around his middle. He hugged her back and looked at Astoria. "We… hum… we'll be right back, okay?"

Astoria glanced askew at Draco, but nodded gently at them. "Sure," she replied, "would you like something to drink when you come back?"

Scorpius shook his head. "We're going back to the party," he told them.

Lily groaned next to him and tugged his arm forward. "Let's go, please," she told him.

"Of course, Lily," he murmured. He smiled at his mother and the youngsters walked past the couch where they were reading and towards the stairs.

"That was weird," sentenced Draco softly. "Do you think she's alright?"

Astoria looked at him and narrowed her eyes in concentration. "Maybe… oh my! What if she found out that Scorpius wanted to propose to her and that her mother didn't let him and now…"

Draco nodded softly. "I understand," he replied, "maybe when they come back we can have Lily cuddling Sparky a little, though. At least the Crup would be happy to see her, and I'm sure she would feel much better anyway."

Astoria smiled at him as she moved a bit closer to her husband. She leaned her head against his shoulder and nodded. "Sounds like a wonderful idea," she murmured, enlacing her fingers into his.

He turned to kiss her hair, and then they just waited, basking in each other's presence.

oooOOOooo

Scorpius opened the door to his bedroom for Lily and closed it at his back as they stepped inside. He walked to the bed and stared as she moved towards the door again and locked it with a quick spell.

He sat on the bed and cocked a questioning eyebrow at her. "Lily, what's wrong?" he softly asked her again. "Is everything alright?"

She looked at him from behind her pretty ringlets and bit her bottom lip without replying. She walked to the bed and sat gently on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you," she murmured, before closing the distance between the two of them to kiss him hungrily.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, his thumb drawing circles on her hipbone through the dress. She pushed her foot on the floor to press herself closer to him and leaned her warm body against his.

He backed away from her after what were probably minutes, panting. "Lily," he murmured, resting his forehead on her cheek. "I love you too."

She swallowed and turned her head to kiss his forehead, her hands disentangled from his neck and descended down his chest until they were resting over his belt buckle.

Scorpius had to shift slightly to lessen the pressure against his member, she was too close, too beautiful, too sensual as she leaned against him. Did she know the effect she had on him?

"I want to have sex with you," she murmured, her fingers ghosting on the belt buckle. "Now…"

Scorpius' breath caught in his throat at her words. All his muscles stiffened as he involuntarily squeezed her waist a bit more tightly than intended. "What?" he groaned huskily.

She took a deep breath, and now her voice was shakier. "I want to have sex with you," she told him.

He tilted his head back a little and looked into her eyes, but she lowered them before he could get a glimpse of the emotions pooling there. "You want to have sex with me?" he asked her softly, his mouth was suddenly dry.

She nodded and started to fumble with his belt, her nimble fingers seemed to know exactly what to do because before he could even react she was already unbuttoning his trousers.

"Lily!" he breathed. "Wait… what… what's wrong with you?" He grasped her wrists in his hands to still her movements.

She looked at him, eyes filled with fear now. "Please, Scorpius, please have sex with me," she begged, "I'm good, I swear… Nott… Nott always said that I was good… please, I still remember everything, I promise I…" She lowered her voice and flushed as she added in a whisper, "I'll make you come all night. Please…"

Scorpius blinked. She never, never mentioned Nott. _Never_. And to mention him in a moment like that. _There was something wrong_…

Scorpius wanted to have sex with her. He had imagined how that would feel, he had imagined how wonderful it would be, to finally be inside of her, to finally be one with her.

But no… he didn't want to have sex with her, _he wanted to make love to her_. He wanted it to be slow and perfect and beautiful… and he had waited so long, he could wait a bit more… until everything was perfect. Because right now, it didn't seem perfect at all…

She slipped her fingers inside his underwear and brushed her digits against his member. Scorpius twitched almost uncontrollably under her touch, and he felt the urge to push her away from him. If she kept that up, he would have pushed her into the mattress and taken her right there and then, and he didn't want it to be like that. He needed himself to be in control.

She stood up from his lap and looked down at him with her eyes wide. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. She looked like she would have begged him to take her, just like that first time he had met her. When she had cried for him to fuck her and use her and not send her back.

"Lily, what's wrong with you?" he asked her nervously. "I thought you wanted to dance and have fun tonight, not… not _this_."

She fell to her knees in front of him, something that she hadn't done in years, and whimpered, "I love you Scorpius, please… have sex with me, I promise, I'm good… I… I just don't want you to leave me…"

He grabbed her upper arm and brought her to sit on the bed. "Leave you?" he asked in disbelief. "I would never leave you. What the heck are you talking about?"

She sniffled and threw her arms around his neck. "I… Rose and Roxy and Dom said that you got tired of not having sex with me, that you would surely go and find someone else if I didn't have sex with you." She wetted his neck with her tears. "I love you, Scorpius, please don't leave me. I'll do anything for you, we can have sex every night, all night, please… I love you."

Scorpius' face hardened as he listened to her. Rose, Roxanne and Dominique had to learn how to mind their own businesses. It was certainly not their place to comment on Scorpius and Lily's relationship, on their sex life or lack of thereof. They were three bitter maids who needed to have a life.

He grasped her shoulders and pushed her back, even though she hugged him more forcefully and thrust herself against him. "Lily," he called her as he tried to push her back again, "Lily, listen to me."

She finally looked at him, eyes glistening with tears and lips trembling.

"I don't want to have sex with you," he told her seriously. "Never, okay?"

She hiccupped a couple of sobs. "But…"

"When it'll happen," he continued, "I want to make love to you."

She brushed her tears with the back of her hand and looked at him with her mouth wide.

"I want our first time together to be unforgettable," he whispered, kissing her cheek, "I want it to be perfect." He kissed her nose. "I don't want you to have to feel like you owe me anything…" He kissed her lips and she puckered them a little to try to respond, but he was gone too soon. "I love you, and I'm not with you because I hope to get into your knickers, okay? I'm with you because you are everything to me, I'm with you because I can't get enough of you, I'm with you because I'm addicted to you, Lily."

She smiled shyly at him, her cheeks flushing in pleasure at his words. She leaned closer and kissed his lips tenderly. "I love you too," she murmured.

Ah, of course he knew that. She had just tried to offer herself to him, despite her past, despite what sex meant to her. She loved him and he loved her and everything would have been perfect if only Ginny Potter had not shooed him from her house when he had asked for permission to marry her daughter.

She slid closer to him and hugged his chest, as he wrapped his arm around her and placed his chin on her head. "You don't want to leave me, then, do you?" she whispered, her breath against his collarbone.

"Not in a million years," he whispered back.

She sighed contentedly. "Will you come to Grimmauld Place tonight? After the party? My mother said you can and—"

"Did she?" asked Scorpius softly. Mrs Potter was agreeing to him staying the night at her house? Well, maybe he could have slipped the engagement ring in his pocket before he left the Manor then…

She nodded. "And I've missed you," she murmured, "you said you don't want to leave me and I believe you, but…"

"But?"

"But we haven't spent much time together lately, and I need you," she whispered, "I'm addicted to you too, you know."

He kissed the top of her head and the magic that she had used to fix her ringlets tickled his nose. "I know," he replied, "right, if your mother says that it's okay, I'll come to Grimmauld Place. And we can spend the whole day together tomorrow."

She kissed his neck and Scorpius felt a shiver running down his spine. Merlin, he wanted everything to be perfect for his first time with Lily, and he was ready to wait for her to be ready as well. But at the same time he hoped that that moment would come soon. When she was that close to him he felt like the pressure in his guts was too much and he would have exploded sooner or later.

"Do you want to go back to the party?" he asked her gently.

She tilted her head back and smiled. "Will you dance with me?"

Scorpius hugged her tightly. "Little vixen," he murmured, before proceeding to tickling her until she laughed and squirmed and fell back onto the bed, her eyes shining in happiness as her hands tried to fend off his gentle attack.

He lay down next to her and instead of keeping on tickling her he started to caress her sides, until his hands settled on her hips and he dragged her to him, kissing her fiercely and moaning at how passionately she responded to him, her palms sliding gracefully on his chest.

"So, shall we go back?" he whispered against her lips.

She hummed and half-closed her eyes. "In a minute," she replied as she snuggled closer to him. "Just let me snog you without my brothers to interrupt us for a bit…"

He groaned in agreement and went back to focus on their kissing, and he too was glad that her brothers were not there to interrupt them.

oooOOOooo

"I knew it!" muttered Roxanne. "I just knew it! Look at that, Dom. Would you look at that?"

Dominique was definitely looking at that. Apparently, every guest at the party was looking at that.

"Yeah," she murmured back.

"Unbelievable!" snapped Roxanne.

And it kind of was. Rose Weasley, calm, composed, level head Rose Weasley, was screaming against Emeric Zabini in the middle of the living room. Properly screaming. Screaming things that she probably shouldn't have screamed since they involved Emeric's penis and the way he liked to sleep with his teddy bear.

"I knew she shouldn't have let James help her," muttered Dominique. "Look at what he did!"

In fact, it had all started when Emeric had yanked Rose away from James' friend, Josh. They had been kissing for more than twenty minutes on the couch; properly kissing, with tongue and the occasional fondling of Rose's breasts, right under the eyes of pretty much everybody, and especially of Emeric and the girl with whom Rose's ex-boyfriend had come to the party.

And Dominique couldn't help noticing how red had Emeric turned as he looked at them with hatred and at the same time he downed all that Firewhiskey as if his goal was to get drunk enough to find the courage to start screaming at Rose.

And he surely had been quite pissed when he had shaken his lady friend from his arm and had walked to the couch and grasped Rose's arm as he brought her to his feet.

"What the hell are you doing?" he had snarled at her.

She had looked only mildly surprised for the briefest time, before narrowing her eyes and wriggling free from his grasp and shouting back at him, "I'm having fun!"

And then they had screamed epithets at each other. Well, he had slipped and called her 'his girlfriend' and she had called him 'a dim-witted jerk'.

James had tried to step in between the two of them, but it was Rose herself who pushed him away and towards Dominique and Roxanne.

"Great job," mocked Roxanne. "Honestly, James, let me know next time you have another great idea like this one because it was just plain fantastic."

James had just looked at her, rather pale, and had babbled something that sounded like, "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Wow, this is kind of awesome," chuckled Hugo, "do you think they're going to hex each other?"

"How's that awesome, Hugo?" snapped Dominique. "Poor Rose, she'll be devastated once she notices that everybody is looking at them and hearing what they are saying."

"Pfft," he replied, waving a hand in front of her nose, "she'll survive. And this is very entertaining." That gained him a scowl from all three of his cousins and he just shrugged a shoulder and walked back to the buffet table, probably to tackle his fifth serving of what Aunt Angelina had prepared for the party.

"I hate you!" snarled Rose. "I'm glad we broke up, and I can only pity your new squeeze for having to spend time with you!"

Emeric looked at her, his dark eyes flashing dangerously. "We didn't break up, I dumped you because you're a frigid old maid and you will end up like your Aunt Muriel!"

Rose's face turned all red as she threw herself at him, grasping the front of his shirt. "I hate you!" she screamed. "I hate—"

And then the crowd of people gasped as Emeric dunked his head to kiss her and cut the insult off. And Rose's eyes widened and she pushed back before he could even try to push his tongue into her mouth.

"Merlin, I love when you are all angry…" he murmured, right before a sound slap landed on his cheek.

"Idiot," she snarled, before storming away from him and disappearing amongst the guests, panting and with her cheeks all flushed.

"Wow," murmured Dominique.

"Double wow," agreed Roxanne.

"Merlin," muttered James. "Well, at least she's not crying anymore, is she?"

Dominique rolled her eyes and was just about to retort something to James, when Lily and Scorpius walked out of the fireplace, hand in hand, all flushed and smiling.

They stopped as they noticed that everybody was staring at Emeric and there was no music nor talking at all going on.

"Did we miss something?" asked Scorpius.

Roxanne nodded eagerly. "Yes, you did," she told them right before she threw herself in a detailed retelling of the events they had just witnessed.

oooOOOooo

"We're going home." Lily's voice was secure and firm as she announced that to her brothers and cousins. "Mum said not to be back too late, and I'm a bit tired…"

"Say you just want to cuddle all night with Scorpius," grinned Hugo.

Lily stuck out her tongue to him, but she knew that he was right, and she couldn't wait.

"Do you want to play Quidditch tomorrow?" asked Albus, detaching his lips from Miriam's – James' ex-girlfriend – long enough to talk.

"No," replied Scorpius quietly. "I want to stay in bed all day."

"Can't have that," Albus told him, "not with my sister."

"Al!" exclaimed Lily half-exasperatedly half-amusedly.

Scorpius just looked exasperated instead.

"Right, right," grunted Albus, "I won't disturb you, just go to Grimmauld Place and send our old mother to bed so that she can sleep happily, knowing that you are home…"

Lily took her time to kiss goodnight all of her cousins and brothers and friends, and Scorpius waited patiently for her as he talked to James about Auror cases and the Scamanders and Papua.

But when they finally left, Lily couldn't wait to spend the night and the following day with Scorpius.

She had missed him too much.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes: **Thank you, my dear dear reviewers. You make my day every day. The scenes with Draco Malfoy were two amongst the very first scenes that I wrote for this story. They haunted me. Hope you'll like this chapter, there's a bit of everything and I really like it. Hope you'll like Ginny here, dear readers of mine.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Scorpius grunted when Albus' voice reached his ears at that ungodly hour. Well, ungodly maybe wasn't the right term, since it was just a bit earlier than eleven in the morning, but still… He was clutching Lily's body to his own and didn't really feel like getting up any moment soon. Not to mention that Albus had promised not to come waking him up that day. It was Sunday, for crying out loud!

"Scorpius," he called him again, shaking his shoulder.

"What the hell, Al," he grunted, opening an eye and trying to glare at him. He didn't succeed.

"Get up," murmured Albus, "we need to talk."

Scorpius opened both eyes and looked at Lily in his arms. She was pressing her hand on his chest and smiling contently in her sleep. Her ringlets were still in place and her pyjamas were soft against his skin. She was warm and he felt comfortable, and the last thing he wanted was to leave her there and go talk to her brother.

"Come back in a few hours," he replied, closing his eyes again, "or in a few days."

He was just in time to hear the whispered, "_Aguamenti_," before a spray of water landed on his face and on Lily's as well.

She woke up with a start and tilted her head back, coughing. "Hey!" she protested.

"Now, you see what you did?" snapped Scorpius, turning towards Lily. "Are you alright?"

She brushed away the water from her face. "Yeah, not so happy to be woken up like this," she pointed out, glaring at Albus.

Albus straightened up and folded his arms across his chest. He was already dressed and looked ready to tackle the day. Urgh, good for him. He should go and tackle it without Scorpius.

"Pomona Sprout is dead," he told him flatly. "We need to go to St Mungo's."

Scorpius looked at him. "It's Sunday," he protested weakly, "we'll go tomorrow." Well, yes, he was an Auror, there really were no Sundays for him, but honestly, it was not as if a dead body was going anywhere, was it?

"Pomona Sprout is dead?" asked Lily, eyes wide as she stared at her brother.

Scorpius wrapped an arm back around her and pulled her to him. "See what you did?" he snapped again at Albus. "Those are no news to give first thing in the morning."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Get up," he told him, "we need to go to St Mungo's."

"I need to sleep a bit more," replied Scorpius sourly. After the trip to Papua New Guinea, he actually needed to sleep for a couple of days to recover.

Albus pointed his wand to him again. "If you don't get up now, Auror Malfoy," he told him sternly, "I'll call your boss, who is having brunch downstairs at this very moment, and he'll levitate your sorry arse out of my sister's bed right now."

Scorpius glared at him with all the force he could muster. That was such a low blow, he could hardly believe that the person in front of him had not been a Slytherin back at Hogwarts.

Lily's arm tightened around his chest, as she closed her eyes and seemed to decide to ignore her brother. Well, of course, that person downstairs was not her boss, he was merely her daddy and she was his little princess; but to Scorpius he was not only his boss, but also the father of the girl he was dating. And if his Auror duties called, he had to answer.

"Lily…"

"No, no, no," she protested, clutching her arms around him, "you said we were going to be together all day."

He bit his bottom lip. "It won't take us long," he murmured, "right, Al?"

"An hour, tops," he replied with a smile.

"See?" he told her. "You don't even have to get up, I'll come right back to bed the moment we finish there."

She pouted, but he kissed her frown away and she slowly let him go. "Or… we could have a bit of brunch together," she said tentatively, "before you go…"

"That sounds even better," he murmured against her lips.

"Well, then, get up you two lovebirds and I'll tell Taffy to put more bacon and more eggs on the fire," he told them cheerfully.

Scorpius pushed the covers away as he kissed Lily once more. "Get out, Al," he grunted to his Auror partner, "I need to change."

Albus shrugged a shoulder as if to say that he had already seen everything, and it was true – damn changing rooms at the Ministry and damn Scamanders – but walked out of the room and closed the door at his back.

He walked towards his clothes, tidily folded on a chair. Was Albus wearing his Auror uniform? He hadn't even noticed. Where was Scorpius' spare uniform anyway? He opened Lily's wardrobe and sure enough it was neatly hung in a corner, freshly laundered by Taffy or Kreacher and smelling almost too nicely not to receive some teasing about it from Albus later on.

He shed his pyjama bottoms and took out the uniform. When he turned, Lily was sitting on her bed, her legs up to her chest under the covers, her brown eyes on him.

She smiled at him and he smiled back as he started to wear the uniform. "What do you want to do when I come back?" he asked softly.

She shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe we could go to Diagon Alley?" she asked softly. "Or we could go to the beach… Uncle Bill always says that I don't visit them enough. Or maybe we could go to see your parents? Last night I feel like I was quite impolite when we barged into their drawing room."

"You were upset," he reminded her, buttoning up his uniform. "And they love you, no need to go and say that you're sorry for something that you didn't do…"

"I did," she replied softly. "And I like to spend some time with them…"

He shook his head and chuckled. "You are the only person I know who likes to spend time with my parents," he let her know. "Aren't you going to change?"

She nodded thoughtfully and pushed away the covers as well, shivering a little as she stepped on the cold floor of her bedroom. "You like to spend time with your parents too," she pointed out, pulling her top over her head and starting to look for her bra. "You said you missed her, remember?"

Scorpius took a deep breath. He should have found another excuse when he had stopped going to Grimmauld Place, honestly that one was too silly. "Yes," he replied, diverting his eyes from her swaying bosom. He was already starting to feel a familiar heat pooling in his loins, it wouldn't have been good to walk downstairs with a hard on.

"Oh!" she said as she sat in front of her vanity. "I forgot to undo the spell for the hair last night."

He turned to look at her and saw that she was swaying her head this and that way, her ringlets bouncing around her face. "Do I look silly?" she asked with a smile, pointing at her hair first and then at her jumper and jeans, as if to ask if that hairstyle had anything to do with those clothes. It didn't, but to Scorpius she looked beautiful wearing anything and with every hairdo.

He walked to her and lowered his head to kiss her hair. "You look beautiful as always," he told her. "Let's go." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. She kissed him softly, before hugging him and then finally starting to go downstairs.

oooOOOooo

Ginny swallowed a piece of crispy bacon and washed it down with a big gulp of tea. She loved Sundays. She loved the fact that Lily was not working on Sundays. And this particularly Sunday, she loved the fact that Albus had just come into the house asking for Scorpius because Professor Sprout had died earlier that night.

Okay, maybe she didn't really like the fact that Professor Sprout had died. That was quite terrible news, but still she could make the most out of it and spend some time with Lily while Scorpius was away.

She glanced at her daughter and her boyfriend chattering in hushed tones over their plates filled with their Full English Breakfast, and wished ardently that Scorpius hadn't already asked Lily what she knew he wanted to ask her. And she hoped he hadn't told Lily about her reaction to those news. In hindsight, after what Hermione and Harry – and the night before even Ron, who Hermione kept repeating that he had the emotional range of a teaspoon – had told her, she had come to the conclusion that the way she had treated Scorpius was not something she was particularly proud of.

"Muuuuum."

Ginny blinked and turned to look at Albus, his green eyes staring intently at her, his mouth covered in baked beans sauce. "What?"

"Pass the orange juice, please," he told her, "I asked like three times."

Ginny took a deep breath as she passed the jar of orange juice. "I was distracted," she told him sourly. "When are you and Scorpius leaving?"

At the mention of his name, Scorpius glanced at her from the other side of the table, but looked away before Ginny could meet his eyes. She knew that he was waiting for her to… to do something. Maybe to call him in her living room when nobody was there and tell him that she was sorry, that she had been rushed, that he could go on and ask Lily to marry him.

Well, she wasn't ready for that. Yes, she knew that she couldn't envision anybody but Scorpius next to her daughter for the rest of their lives, that he was the right person. The one person that knew Lily, knew what she had gone through and loved her and respected her and…

Ginny sighed. Yes, Scorpius was perfect, but his timing was off. Ginny was not ready… she just wanted… just wanted a few more years…

"As soon as we finish this," replied Albus.

Ginny nodded, before turning to look at Lily. Her plate lay almost untouched in front of her, too focused as she was to talk to Scorpius and giggle out loud. She hadn't giggled and looked so happy for the whole week that Scorpius had been away from Grimmauld Place. Yes, he was definitely the right person for her daughter. Maybe Ginny didn't need years, maybe she just needed a few more months with Lily and then she could have given them her blessing…

"Lily, dear, eat something," she told her gently, "you must be famished."

She looked at her mother and smiled. "Oh well, we had quite a bit to eat last night at the party, Mum," she reassured her, "Auntie Angelina made the best finger food ever."

Ginny's lips pressed together in a thin line. Rose and James had already come around to tell her about the night before, she knew perfectly well that they had gone to the Manor and came back only when the food had been almost over. Had she managed to eat enough? "Taffy cooked for you, Lily dear," she murmured. She didn't like to guilt her daughter into doing things, but she had to admit that it worked pretty well every time, and this time it was no different.

Lily smiled at her mother and finally started to eat with gusto. "It's delicious," she said truthfully.

Ginny felt a smile tugging at her lips. "I'm glad to hear that, Lily," she said, "is there something in particular you'd like to do today?"

Lily swallowed and looked at her, guilt painting her features. "Scorpius and I are going someplace," she told her, "we don't know where, maybe the Manor…"

The fork that Ginny had in his hand was placed slowly on the plate. "You went to the Manor last night, Lily," she pointed out, "wouldn't you want to spend some time home instead of wandering for someone else's house?"

Lily furrowed her brow. "How do you know I was at the Manor last night?" she asked confused.

Ginny raised her chin and folded her arms across her chest. "I know because I'm your mother," she reminded her.

Lily stared at her for some long seconds. "Did you spy on me?" she asked quietly.

Ginny bit her bottom lip. "No," she replied dryly, "I just… I asked James and Rose about you. They were supposed to look after you."

"I don't need anybody to look after me, Mum," she replied, her hands balling into fists on the table. "I… I can take care of myself."

"Lily, I'm sure your mother is just trying to show you how much she loves you," murmured Scorpius. "She was worried for the party, you know, I think my mother was slightly worried as well, so many people, so many Gryffindors…"

Ginny looked at him through her auburn eyelashes. She knew what he was doing, he was trying to butter Ginny up for when she'd have to confront him… well, he could keep that up because his words had worked their magic with her daughter and Lily was smiling already.

For a moment Ginny hated Scorpius and the fact that he could always make Lily smile when all Ginny could do was arguing with her. She wanted that relationship that they had while she was still at Hogwarts, she wanted Lily to look at her like she looked at Scorpius.

"Right," said Albus suddenly, standing up. "Shall we go, Scorpius?"

"I wish I could come with you," said Lily softly as she kissed Scorpius goodbye.

"We're going to see a dead body, Lils," pointed out Albus.

Harry finally lowered the Daily Prophet to the table. "And that's not something to take lightly," he said sternly, "even when you are Aurors, it's something that luckily one never gets used to."

"And it's worst when it's someone that you used to know," murmured Ginny.

Harry nodded gravely. "Off you go now," he told to the young Aurors. "Don't bicker too much."

"I'll see you later," murmured Scorpius to Lily as she quickly kissed him once more and he finally stood up. "Mr Potter, Mrs Potter."

"Be careful," said Ginny, looking from him to her son.

"We're always careful," replied Albus with a light roll of his eyes.

"See you later, guys," said Harry, staring at them as they disappeared into the hall. He drew out his wand and warmed up his cup of tea before bringing it to his lips and sipping from it. "Lily, what are your plans for today?" he asked her again, evidently he had been too interested in the news to pay attention to their conversation a few moments before.

"Scorpius and I have planned to spend the day together," she replied, poking her eggs with her fork. "I think I'll wait for him to return."

"Or," said Ginny tentatively, "we could go and see Grandma Molly and Granddad Arthur and then Scorpius can meet us there, if he wants to…"

Lily didn't look at her. "But at the Burrow we can never spend some time alone between Grandma wanting to smother me with kisses and Granddad showing all his Muggle appliances to Scorpius over and over again…"

"Well, then we could go and do a bit of shopping, just the two of us, and then—"

"Mum, I want to spend some time with Scorpius," Lily cut in, "why is it so difficult for you to understand that?" She stood up and walked away, trying probably to stomp her naked feet, but managing only to slap them on the floor.

Harry exhaled a weary sigh and opened his mouth.

"Don't," said Ginny, her voice shaky. "I know, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just want her to spend time with me before Scorpius takes her away from me."

Harry closed his mouth and looked intently at her. "Take her away from you?" he asked softly. "Does that mean that you are going to talk to him?"

Ginny looked at him. "I feel like I will have to, if I want to keep having a relationship with my daughter." She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Would you give him your blessing?" she asked him. "To take your daughter away from us, after all the years she was taken already."

"It's not the same thing." He shook his head, darkening.

"I know," sniffled Ginny. "It feels like the same thing though."

"I think we should tell him that… that he can marry her," murmured Harry. "I've already given them my blessing. Here in my heart." He patted his chest and smiled at her.

Ginny shook her head again. "You don't understand, Harry, the bond between a mother and a daughter… you just don't understand…" she whispered, before standing and walking away, leaving Harry there alone.

oooOOOooo

"What do you mean we have to wait at least five hours?" snarled Scorpius to the very small and very frightened Healer. "I don't have five hours to waste on a Sunday!"

Albus chuckled at his side, placing a hand on his arm and looking at the Healer almost apologetically. "He has a date with his girlfriend," he told him, "he is a bit on edge."

The Healer repositioned his glasses on his nose and swallowed. "I'm sorry, but that's the procedure," he said, "Mrs Sprout died this morning at eight, and first she has to go through the normal medical procedures which include the examination of the body which was requested by the Ministry itself, the drafting of all the documents, the preservation of the body with spells, the—"

"Okay, okay, okay," grunted Scorpius darkly. "Then we'll come back later today or better tomorrow."

"I don't think so, Sir," replied the man, "if they finish earlier they are going to prepare the body for the funeral and nobody is admitted except relatives and friends and since she didn't have any relatives—"

"We are friends," Albus cut him off.

"Are you?" asked the Healer thickly.

Scorpius nodded, even though he had probably never seen her at all.

"Well, it doesn't matter in these circumstances, since you are here for investigations," he told them dryly. "You can wait in the cafeteria or here in the corridor, we'll let you know when you can see the body and the report." And with that, he was gone before Scorpius or Albus could even try to bargain an early visit to the corpse.

Scorpius let out a frustrated grunt and turned away to punch the wall, before crying out in pain and shaking his hand. "Damn it!" he snapped. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! There are seven freaking days in a freaking week, why did she have to die on a Sunday?" He raised his fist and shook it. "Why Sprout? Why?"

Albus sat on a chair and leaned back. "They are going to close you in the Janus Thickey Ward if you don't calm down," he told him placidly.

Scorpius glared at him. "They can sod off, for all I care." He looked around him, massaging his fist. "I need to find a fireplace to let Lily know that I won't be able to spend the whole day with her." He glanced at Albus askew and added in a murmur, "Your mother will be happy."

Albus furrowed his brow. "Why would she?"

Scorpius shook his head and grunted, "I need a fireplace."

Then something hit Albus and he stared at Scorpius intently as he said, "Hey wait a second. You spent the whole week ignoring Lily, and now, suddenly, you are back doing all the lovey dovey stuff you usually do with her. I honestly thought that you were about to dump her, you know. What the hell happened?"

"Oh yes, of course," snapped Scorpius, "you too think that there should be something wrong between Lily and me! James too, and he told Rose and she told Dominique and Roxanne, and Lily overheard them saying that if she didn't have sex with me I would have dumped her!"

Albus' mouth hung wide open for a moment. "Beg your pardon?" he asked, flushing slightly. "I didn't think those things."

Scorpius shook his head. "They are three Banshees," he growled, "they keep howling about everything and don't know how to mind their own businesses. And you and your brother are just as bad."

"Well," said Albus firmly, "it's not my fault if I honestly thought that you were going to leave Lily. You were cold… colder than usual, you were distant, wouldn't come to see her, I mean it's just normal that—"

"I want to marry her!" snapped Scorpius, cutting him off. "Okay? Happy now? I want to marry her, I went to your parents to ask for their blessing early this week and your mother slapped me and kicked me out of her house, okay? That's why I didn't really feel too comfortable about coming to see her with your parents there. That's why I didn't come for dinner for the whole week!" He took a sharp breath and looked away from Albus, shaking his head.

Albus just stared in front of him, unable to even look at Scorpius at that moment. He wanted to marry her. He wanted to marry Lily. Scorpius wanted to marry Lily.

Oh well, it was not a difficult concept to grasp, really. Lily had talked about marrying Scorpius ever since she had returned home six years before. And she wanted to have a dozen of children with him and dig a pond at the Manor.

Still, though, Albus couldn't believe that the moment in which Scorpius finally asked her to marry him had arrived… "I… I didn't know…"

"I know," grunted Scorpius, pacing nervously in front of him.

"My mother really slapped you?" he asked in disbelief.

Scorpius nodded and bit his bottom lip. "I might have said something when she didn't let me ask Lily to marry me…"

Albus cocked an eyebrow questioningly. "Something like?"

He took a deep breath. "I might have said that she is smothering Lily and that her daughter would like to marry me just to break free from her, or something…"

Albus' lips parted in surprise. "Oh," was all he could say. Then they were quiet for a long moment, until the dark-haired Auror felt the urge to ask him something that he had been thinking for years now, "I'm your best man, right? I mean when you marry Lily, I'm going to be your best man. Right?"

Scorpius sighed loudly before starting to walk away and disappearing down the corridor as he muttered, "I need a fireplace."

oooOOOooo

Lily groaned in disappointment when Scorpius' head disappeared from the chimney. She wanted to slam her fists on the floor and cry in frustration. Everything seemed to be against her and Scorpius spending time together. _Everything_. She wondered if there was something wrong, like the Moon in Aquarius or Venus in Pisces or whatever, but she really did feel like they had all the stars and constellations against them.

She felt her mother move on the couch near her head and she knew, somehow, that she was smiling satisfied.

Lily wanted to cry.

"Lily," said her father gently, "Scorpius and Al are good Aurors. They know what it means to be working on a case, especially when there's a murder or even two like in this one."

"And there's no need to be sad," said her mother sweetly, "we can do things just the two of us, Lily. We can go to Diagon Alley maybe?"

Lily shook her head. "No," she let her know tersely.

"Visit Uncle Bill?" her mother asked instead.

She stood up from the floor and shook her head vehemently. "No," she repeated, "I want to wait for Scorpius."

"Fancy a match of Wizard's Chess with your old father, Lily?" asked her father gently. "I know you'll beat me, but I'm ready to take the burn."

She shook her head again and looked at them seriously. "I'm going to lie down a little, maybe read a bit," she told them. "Tell me if Scorpius comes early."

She could see her mother biting her bottom lip before walking away, but Lily was too frustrated and irritated to pay attention to her. She just wanted to be alone, she wanted to break free for a moment. She climbed up the stairs to her room and walked briskly inside, she Summoned her shoes and a jacket, and then opened her window.

She was on the third floor, but there was a branch reaching her window. It was a bit thin and didn't seem too stable but she was not too heavy and—she giggled and shook her head, looking at the street in front of her to see if there were any Muggles.

Luckily everybody seemed to laze about at home that Sunday. She grabbed her broomstick and flew out of the window, until her feet were well planted on the ground. She discarded the broomstick in a corner and walked out of the garden and towards the little park in front of their house where people usually Apparated when they came to visit.

She hid from prying eyes in a sheltered corner and focused on her destination. The magic of Apparition tugged her from behind her navel and soon she was gone.

oooOOOooo

"A few more minutes and then you'll be able to come in," said the Healer as he walked out of the morgue.

"That's what you said half an hour ago," pointed out Scorpius dryly.

"He meant to say, thank you Healer," said Albus, placing a hand on Scorpius' shoulder.

The Healer glared at Scorpius and walked away.

"I meant right that," he replied sourly. "And I want you to know that if you keep defending this Healer you are not going to be my best man."

"Yes, I am, who else would you choose?"

"James."

"Ouch, that's a low blow," muttered Albus.

"Then shut up."

oooOOOooo

"Here Sparky, here. Good boy! Who's a good boy? You are! Yes! Speak Sparky. Good boy."

Draco stopped in his tracks as he heard the voice coming from the kennel. He didn't know that Scorpius and Lily were at the Manor. Well, not that Scorpius usually told him when that happened, in fact he was always the last one to know, if it weren't for his wife or for Lily herself coming to say hi to him.

He pushed the door ajar and peered inside. He knew that if Scorpius saw him standing there and staring at the two of them he would have found any excuse to take Lily away, and he certainly didn't want that.

First of all, if sooner or later she was to become lady Malfoy, Draco had the duty to get to know her. To spend time with her. To bond with her a little bit at least. Secondly, if she was making the Crup happy, who was he to interrupt that. Sparky needed to eat and he was surely going to be famished after he had played with the girl.

Draco's eyes wandered for the kennel. Lily was kneeling in the middle. Most of the Crups were surrounding her, but Sparky was the one who seemed the most excited to see her, his front paws were pushing on her knees, his tongue was hanging from his mouth and his eyes were shining with happiness. Yes, his owner was there and he couldn't be happier.

But Scorpius was nowhere to be found. Could it be that she would ditch him to come and look at the Crups? He usually never left her alone in the Manor, not even for a few minutes. Yes, and then the boy lamented her mother, but he was just the same as she was.

Draco pushed the door open and walked inside. "Hello Lily," he said evenly, trying not to scare her.

She turned to look at him and smiled. "Hello Mister Malfoy," she replied, tucking some locks of red hair behind her ear.

Draco made his way to the couch and sat between Regina and Noble, who were supervising their puppies from the plush cushions. "I didn't know you and Scorpius were here."

She pushed her hands on the floor and turned her body to face him. Sparky's hind legs took little lateral steps as if to follow her. "Scorpius is not here," she told him, "he's at work."

Draco furrowed his brow. "And you came here all alone?" he asked her. "Does your mother know?"

She seemed to darken slightly. "No," she replied. "Nobody knows."

"Well, I do now," Draco told her gently.

She nodded. "Please, don't turn me in," she asked him softly, before lowering her eyes on Sparky again and scratching him behind his ears. "He still remembers me," she told him with a smile, "he ran to me when I walked in."

Draco scratched Noble behind his ears and the Crup yawned. "Oh, he does more than remember you," he assured her, "he misses you, Lily. See how small he is? He doesn't eat a lot, always sad that you are not here."

Lily bit her bottom lip. "I miss him too," she confessed, scooping him up in her arms and scratching his belly. The Crup licked her face happily and Lily giggled, causing Draco to smile at the scene.

"Well, if Scorpius doesn't let you come here to pet him, I don't understand why you don't want to take him home with you," Draco told her truthfully, "I gave him to you, after all."

Lily placed the puppy back on the floor and looked seriously at Draco. "I couldn't possibly take him away from his mother," she told him, "he would suffer terribly, wouldn't he?"

Draco cocked his head. So, that was the reason why owner and Crup could not live happily ever after. She was afraid that the pup would suffer for the separation from his mother. Of course, he should have known…

"I think the first night you wouldn't be able to sleep properly for how much he would yelp for his mother," he agreed, "and I wouldn't either with Regina crying for her son." He took a deep breath and added, "But by the second day I'm sure that he will be already absolutely fine about living with you at Grimmauld Place."

"But wouldn't he miss his mother after the first night anymore?"

"Only a little bit," he admitted, "but he will be with you. He wants to be with you more than he wants to be with his mother, you know."

Lily looked at the Crup, eyes wide. "But that's terrible!"

Draco shook his head. "That's life, Lily," he told her, "every pup sooner or later has to leave their parents' house. They have to go with someone who loves them. They can't live with their parents forever, you know." He smiled at her. "That doesn't mean that they don't love their mother and father, though. There's just a time for everything, and it's time for him to live with you."

Lily pressed her lips together, hopefully considering Draco's words attentively. She patted her legs again and Sparky jumped on them to lick her face. She laughed once more. "No, Sparky! Down! Sit, Sparky!" The Crup sat back on the floor and looked at her with eyes wide and filled with expectation. "Does he really want to be with me?" she asked softly.

"More than anything," replied Draco.

Lily placed her hand in front of his muzzle and let him lick her fingers.

"Shall I prepare the documents for you to bring him home with you?" he asked her softly.

She scratched him behind his ears a bit more and raised her eyes to look at Draco. "I think so," she grinned, "I mean, if he wants to come home with me, I can't forbid him, can I?"

Draco shook his head. "I don't think it would be nice," he agreed.

"And can he come to see his mother?" she asked a bit anxiously.

"Any time he wants," Draco assured her, standing up. "I'll get the papers for you to sign."

She nodded. "Here Sparky," she called him, patting her legs again, "here. We're going home now. Are you happy?"

The Crup barked twice.

"Good boy," she said, scooping him up again. "Good boy."

oooOOOooo

Scorpius was having difficulties keeping his brunch down.

He considered himself a manly man, strong and with a lot of willpower; but it was rather difficult for him not to wince in front of a corpse.

"We are not Healers," he muttered to Albus, "why are we here to look at the corpse instead of reading the report?"

Albus didn't even reply. "Here," he said instead, handing him the papers, "read here."

Scorpius skimmed through the report to the place where Albus was pointing. "_Cause of death: Poisoning_," he read flatly. Just like Toots. "It's not like we didn't know that already."

"Not there," said Albus, looking over his shoulder, "here."

He followed his index finger again to the place that read: _Specific Marks_ and cocked an eyebrow as he read out loud. "_A birthmark in the shape of an egg on her back, a mole on the inside of her thigh, a tattoo in the shape of a rose on the nape of her neck…_" He looked at Albus and wrinkled his nose. "A tattoo? Well, Professor Sprout was a bit of a rebel, wasn't she?" He glanced at her still form, her complexion was pale and greyish, the conservation spells that had been cast upon her prevented her body to turn purple and bloat like some of the corpses Albus and Scorpius had the misfortune to see through the years.

"I hardly think she was one to have a meaningless tattoo," pointed out Albus.

"Meaningless? It's a rose, she was a Herbologist, it's not meaningless," replied Scorpius sourly. "Didn't they take a picture?"

Albus shook his head. "Okay," he said stiffly, walking towards the table where the body rested, "you raise her, I'll look at the tattoo."

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow. Surely he wasn't serious. "You raise her," he replied, "and I'll look."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he told him. He took out his wand and pointed it at the woman. Of course, he meant raise her with magic. Merlin! What was wrong with him? Scorpius was already too dizzy for being so close to a dead person, he couldn't certainly think straight.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_," Albus said, flicking his wand.

Professor Sprout's body hovered a few feet from the table and Scorpius went to stand under her. "There's too much hair…" he complained as he tried to locate the tattoo.

"Well, move it away," Albus told him.

Scorpius bit his bottom lip and frowned. He was about to touch a dead person. Okay, he could do that. No need to faint like he felt that he was probably going to do. He stretched his hand and moved away her frizzy hair from the nape of her neck.

He swallowed hard to push back down the eggs and the bacon that were making their way to his throat, and focused and… there it was. A small rose, a small black rose with many thorns and a long stem. It was slightly discoloured, as if it had been there an awful lot of time, but it was a tattoo all right.

"Can I put her down?" asked Albus.

Scorpius let her hair fall back in place and moved away. "Yes, yes," he said quickly, turning away as the massive body was lowered once again on the table.

"So, did you see it?" asked Albus as he put his wand away.

Scorpius nodded. "Yes, have we finished here? I need some fresh air," he told him thickly.

Albus nodded back. "I guess so," he replied, "we can go back home."

And as they walked out of the morgue the first thing Scorpius did was to find a loo and splash some ice cold water all over his face. Then he tried to make as little noise as possible as he threw up the content of his stomach.

oooOOOooo

When there was a barking at the front door and someone turning the key of the main entrance, Ginny and Harry looked at each other with confusion.

Only four people, apart from themselves, had a key to Grimmauld Place. But Lily was upstairs, Albus was at St Mungo's and James was at his flat. Ron usually used the Floo. They all did.

And none of them had a dog…

"What…" Harry grasped his wand, but his question died on his tongue as he stared at Lily walking inside, her broom in her hand and a pup trotting around her ankles and barking happily.

"Lily," breathed Ginny, standing up at once. "I thought… I thought you were upstairs. I thought you were reading or sleeping…"

She shook her head and smiled at her mother. "I went to the Manor," she told her simply. "Mum, Dad, this is Sparky. Speak, Sparky! Good boy!"

The pup barked twice and then went to smell Ginny's feet first and then Harry's.

"Oh," said Ginny, looking at the pup, "isn't that… isn't that one of Mr Malfoy's Crups? Lily, you didn't… didn't steal him, right?"

She shook her head again. "No, Mum," she replied, "Mr Malfoy gave him to me as a present."

She crouched on the floor and the Crup went to her, brushing his nuzzle against her knee. "I'm his owner," she let them know, "and he was suffering away from me. He wants to be with me more than he wants to be at the kennel with his mother, but don't worry he still loves his mother." She looked at Ginny and smiled widely.

"Does he?" asked Ginny softly, sitting back on the couch.

Lily nodded. "Mum, Dad, I think Sparky and I will move out soon," she murmured.

Harry furrowed his brow and looked at Ginny, but his wife's eyes were fixed on their daughter.

"You… you think that," murmured Ginny, "why… has Scorpius told you something?"

Lily looked at Ginny. "No," she replied simply, "Sparky and I will find a place where to stay, just the two of us." She smiled at her mother and added, "But that doesn't mean that I love you any less than I do, Mum."

"But Lily…"

"I need to, Mum," she replied firmly but gently, "I am a woman now, I need to live alone for a while before I move in with Scorpius and we get married."

Ginny glanced at Harry, her usually pale complexion was almost green. "Married?"

"Well, sooner or later it will happen, right?" she told her. "I mean, you married Dad, and you are happy. I want to be as happy as you are." She looked at Harry and smiled. "Right, Dad?"

Harry could feel Ginny's and Lily's eyes on himself. But for as much as he loved his wife, he had to do the right thing. "Right, Lily," he replied gently. "We will miss you, though, you know."

"Oh, me too," she told him truthfully, "immensely, Dad. But it's the right thing to do. Mister Malfoy said that Sparky is going to cry and howl tonight because he misses his mother, but then it'll get better."

"Well," sentenced Ginny sourly, "isn't Mister Malfoy a know-it-all."

Lily stood from the floor and went to her mother, she sat near her on the couch and hugged her tightly. "I'll miss you, Mum," she told her, "but I'll come and have dinner every night, just like Al and James do."

Ginny's lips spread into a miserable smile as she looked at her daughter and sighed. She opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment Albus and Scorpius stumbled out of the fireplace, looking positively green.

"Scorpius!" exclaimed Lily, running to him. Sparky followed her and started to bark at Scorpius who probably was now standing too close to the his owner.

"Hi," said Scorpius, hugging her as she hugged him back. Then his grey eyes moved to the Crup and he furrowed his brow. "Sparky?"

"Wow," exclaimed Albus, "a Crup, extra cool. I've always wanted one." He crouched down and the pup went to smell his hand.

"That's Sparky," Lily introduced him to her brother. "Mister Malfoy gave him to me as a present."

Scorpius looked at her and then at Harry and Ginny. "But… did my father bring him here?"

She shook her head. "I went to the Manor to pet him," she told him, "and your father told me to bring him home with me."

"You went to the Manor?" he asked in disbelief. "Alone?"

Lily nodded seriously. "I Apparated there," she said, "nothing to worry about, I can take care of myself. And your parents offered me a good cup of tea."

Scorpius seemed at a loss of words.

"Sparky and I are moving out of Grimmauld Place soon," added Lily.

"What?" asked Albus. "Moving where? Moving in with Scorpius?"

Scorpius glared at him, but Lily shook her head. "No, we will find a place and will live just the two of us," she told them. "For a little while at least."

"Isn't that marvellous?" said Ginny rather coolly. She stood up and walked to Lily, kissing her forehead and smiling at her before turning towards all the other people. "Excuse me for a second, will you? I need to run out a moment."

"Ginny…"

But she was gone out of the drawing room and – from the noises of the door banging – out of the house as well.

oooOOOooo

Ginny knew Malfoy Manor well enough now to be able to locate and march to Draco's study without the help of the house-elves.

They were squealing and running behind her anyway, but she was doing her best to ignore them and just stomp her feet on the stony floor of the corridor.

She stopped in front of the door that she recognised as Draco Malfoy's study and knocked quickly before deciding that he didn't deserve her to be polite. No! He deserved to be screamed at, and that was exactly what she was going to do. She pushed the door open and stormed in there.

Draco's eyes rose on her, he seemed vaguely startled.

"How dare you to give my daughter a Crup!" she snarled at him.

Draco furrowed his brow, before raising his hands near his face. "I assumed you were an animal-loving family," he told her calmly.

Ginny gritted her teeth. "You know what I'm talking about," she snapped, "she came home talking about puppies being away from their mothers, saying that it was alright for children to leave their parents at some point!" She glared at him and added, "She said that it was probably time for her to move out of Grimmauld Place!"

Draco leaned back against his chair. Despite trying to look serious, a small smile stretched his lips. "I just talked to her about Crups," he said quietly.

Ginny flared her nostrils. "I know perfectly well what you talked to her about," she told him hotly, "you are trying to get back at me because of your son!"

"I'm afraid I'm not trying to do anything at all," he replied placidly, "except maybe making a Crup happy."

Ginny snorted. "Making a Crup happy," she snapped, "is that how you call it? I call it to put a child against her mother!"

"She's not a child…"

"Stop saying that!" she cried, stomping her foot on the floor. If one more person told her that Lily was not a child she was going to hex them. She really was, her Bogey-Bat Hex had made her famous amongst her fellow housemates and the D.A. members back at Hogwarts, she would use it on Malfoy, she was sure he had definitely done something to deserved it in his life. She glared at him. "You don't know anything about Lily…"

"Everybody knows everything about her," he replied, "it was on all the newspapers."

"You don't know what she wants!" she snarled. "She… she needs me! I'm her mother… she needs me!"

"And did I tell her that she didn't need you?"

"You told her that it was fine to leave me!"

"No, I told her that sooner or later she would have had to leave your nest, mother hen."

"Ha!" snapped Ginny, pointing a finger accusatorily. "So you admit you were talking about her and not the Crup!"

Draco darkened as he flared his nostrils at her now. "I was talking about the Crup," he grunted, "but she is intelligent enough to understand that Crups aren't the only creatures that need to sever their link with their smothering mothers at some point."

"Smothering! How dare you?" she screeched outraged. Honestly, was Draco Malfoy giving her parenting advice? He was the one who had rented a prostitute for his son when he turned seventeen. _And I am extremely grateful for that_, she reminded herself.

He stood up from his chair and placed his pale hands on his desk. "If you weren't smothering her, Potter," he told her, "she wouldn't feel the urge to sneak out of your house to come and play with the Crups. If you weren't smothering her, my son would be able to ask her to marry him. If you weren't smothering her, she wouldn't—"

"Shut up!" she snapped. Ginny could feel tears swelling up in her eyes and that would not do. She wasn't going to cry in front of Draco Malfoy. She would have hexed him before she'd let him see her tears. "I'm just trying to protect her." She was horrified to hear how shaky her voice was.

"And you did a great job up to now," he told her quietly. "Now it's up to someone else to do that."

She glanced at him askew. "You mean your son," she muttered.

"No," he replied unexpectedly, "I mean Lily herself." He took a deep breath and added, "Apparently she almost killed Nott in that brothel, didn't she? I wouldn't want to be Scorpius when they have their first row…"

Ginny took a couple of unsteady steps towards the closest chair and collapsed heavily on it. She stared at the desk and at the piles of parchments on it. Lily was able to take care of herself, wasn't she? Ginny knew that, she had known it for a while… she just didn't want to see it. And why could Draco Malfoy see it instead? Merlin, if even Draco Malfoy agreed with Harry, Ron and Hermione, either the whole world had gone crazy or… or there was something wrong with her. But she and Lily were always fighting so probably it wasn't the world… probably there was something off about the way she had behaved up to now with her daughter. Merlin! She wanted things to be right again. She wanted Lily to be happy. She was happy only when Lily was happy. But to make her happy, she had to… she had to… She brought her hands to her face and hunched her back. "Malfoy, do me a favour," she muttered through her fingers, "shut up, you are freaking me out."

He snorted. "Just because I'm a wonderful father?"

"Your son barely talks to you," she pointed out sourly, before sighing and adding in a gentler tone, "I'll talk to him."

"And you'll tell him what, pray tell?" he asked coldly.

She glared at him. "That it's your fault if I'm agreeing to him asking my daughter's hand in marriage." She shook her head and added, "I know that Lily can take perfectly good care of herself, but I'd rather see her married to Scorpius than all alone in a flat in Diagon Alley."

Draco smiled – he properly smiled – at her and picked up a piece of parchment from the desk. He circled the table and came to stand next to her. "Here," he told her, "this will make you feel better."

Ginny took it in her hands and looked at it, her eyebrows knitting together on her forehead. "What is this?" she asked. "One thousand Galleons?" she screeched.

"A standard contract to buy a Crup," he replied matter-of-factly, handing her a quill. "Here, you can sign under _Owner_."

She scolded him, "I thought it was a present!"

"Lily's is," he replied, "this one if for you. For when your daughter leaves the nest and you don't have anybody else to turn your attentions to."

She snorted. It looked like he had that contract prepared all along, as if he had been waiting for her visit. "Well, we are almost family, aren't we?" She placed the contract back on the desk and stood up. "I've always wanted a Crup, now that I think about it…" She turned away and walked towards the door, she opened it and stepped into the corridor. Now, what did Lily say about the whereabouts of that kennel again…

"Oi! Potter!" She heard Malfoy's steps hurry behind her. "Don't you dare! Those are very expensive animals!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes: **Thank you my dear reviewers! You're the best. I'm so grateful for each and every single one of you, please don't worry if you can't review every chapter. I know you're there reading this with me and it makes me so happy already! Another collections of scenes in this chapter. Things will start getting hectic starting from the upcoming chapter, I promise. Hope you're ready for that! :D Ah, we're already half-way through this! I can hardly believe it! Time flies!

PS-I kind of have problems with the alerts from this website. I don't get alerts for reviews and PM's and faves and follows during the early hours of the morning, I get them later in the afternoon all together. Am I the only one with this problem?

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Scorpius couldn't sleep.

He thought he would have collapsed on the bed and drifted into a peaceful sleep five minutes after, but instead he had lain awake for hours.

And that was, first and foremost, because of Sparky. The Crup had kept weeping for most part of the night, and only stopped when Lily hugged him tightly to her chest and put him between the two of them on the bed. So that Scorpius had to move a little bit away from her to make room for the puppy, which was something that had annoyed him slightly.

Secondly, there was the unexpected news of Lily wanting to leave Grimmauld Place to live alone. Scorpius was rather surprised that she would listen to his father's suggestions since Scorpius himself didn't do that. But she seemed to have made up her mind: Draco Malfoy had told her that it was normal for children to leave their families sooner or later and she was going to do just that. And despite the fact that he was gloating for the fact that Mrs Potter would have had to cut the umbilical cord that linked her to her daughter, and that for once it was not Scorpius' fault, he couldn't help fretting at the thought of his girlfriend living alone. She was beautiful and simply too trusty and he could practically see her letting a handsome next-door neighbour into her house with the excuse that he needed some sugar and then… No, no, no. He didn't want to think about it.

As a third and final thing, he had just seen a corpse. And despite him being a big boy and an Auror, he could never quite sleep the night after he had seen a body.

So, now he was sitting on the couch of the living room in Grimmauld Place with a cup of tea in his hands and his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him. Thinking, trying to get himself in the right mood to fall asleep, trying to think about the Toots case, trying not to think about Lily living alone.

"…I know why you're crying, it's because Malfoy called you Brutus. That's no name for a little ball of fluff like yourself. Shall we change your name? To something more apt to a Crup like—oh…"

Scorpius turned his head to look over his shoulder. Mrs Potter, wearing a flowery nightgown and a pair of oversized fluffy and warm slippers, was standing on the door. Brutus, or whatever his name was going to be in a few moments, was in her arms, his tiny mouth was open and his tongue hung from between his teeth.

"Scorpius," she murmured, scratching her head and involuntarily ruffling up her hair even more, "I thought… I thought you were sleeping. I thought everybody was sleeping." She walked towards him and sat down on an armchair close to the fireplace, the pup turned in her arms and jumped down from her legs to the floor, trotting to go and sniff at Scorpius' feet.

"I couldn't," he replied softly, "too many things on my head and… too many things in Lily's bed."

To his surprise, Mrs Potter smiled. "I understand," she replied, "Mr Potter told me to bring Brutus downstairs because he couldn't sleep either. This poor fellow has been tossing and turning for most of the night."

Scorpius nodded. "They miss their mother," he whispered. "That's why they are so restless."

"I know," she replied quietly.

He nodded again and stared as the pup went back to Mrs Potter and stood on his hind legs, placing his front paws on her leg. She smiled and bent over to pick him up and scratch him between his ears. The Crup barked happily and Mrs Potter shushed him by putting him closer to his face, where the pup started to lick her.

She giggled like a child. She giggled like Lily giggled when she was happy, and Scorpius couldn't help smiling at her.

Then, suddenly, she spoke and her voice was serious and focused, "I don't like the idea of Lily going to live by herself."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows at her. Ah, of course… she would have talked about that, sooner or later. Scorpius could have sniggered and pointed out that if she had let him ask her to marry him, she would have never had that crazy idea. But he didn't. He was too tired to start the umpteenth discussion with Lily's mother and if he really wanted to get her blessing at some point, he should have kept his mouth closed. "Me neither," he said evenly.

Mrs Potter looked into his eyes. "I would feel much better if you married her and she went to live with you," she murmured.

Scorpius took a few long seconds to understand what she was saying. He had to wait for the meaning of those words to sink into his brain, but when they did, his lips parted in surprise as he stared at Mrs Potter. Was she really saying… was she… was she giving him her blessing to…? "You mean…"

Mrs Potter nodded as she pushed the Crup back down into her lap. "Yes," she told him, "you have my permission, my blessing, whatever you need. You can ask Lily to marry you."

Scorpius' heartbeat increased. Was he dreaming? Surely, soon he would have bolted awake in Lily's bed, with Sparky licking his face and Lily giggling in his ear and saying that the Crup liked him. Surely, that wasn't reality. Surely… "I… I…"

She raised a hand in front of her face to stop him. "If," she started quietly, "if there's one person that can marry my daughter and protect her and keep her safe—"

"She doesn't—"

"Don't, Scorpius," she murmured. "You can say whatever you want, but she does need protection. Yes, she is strong and all grown up and everything, but… she didn't have a normal… childhood. And anybody else would have just taken advantage of her, she is sweet and gentle and always sees the good in everybody, she needs someone like you to keep her with her feet on the ground. Someone that won't let anything bad happen to her."

For a moment Scorpius wondered if she had had his same vision: Lily and some bloke in her flat, taking advantage of her. Either that or he and Mrs Potter were more alike than he would have thought.

Scorpius swallowed. "So… can I ask Lily to marry me?" he whispered. "Really?" His heart had started beating at double pace now, he tried to subtly pinch his own forearm and nothing happened. It was no dream after all.

Mrs Potter took a deep breath. "Yes," she told him, "but don't think even for a spare second that I won't come and visit you every single day. Even if you were to move to Wales to be close to Lily's work."

Scorpius grinned. "You will always be welcomed at our house."

She nodded seriously. "And you will come here every evening for dinner."

"Free food, who would be such a fool as to refuse that?" he kept grinning.

She smiled a little as well. "And the moment you have your first child, I am moving in with you," she told him.

He chuckled. "Great, as long as you help us bringing up the child like Lily and not like Al…" And as long as he could call her _the Help_ behind her back, but that, probably, was not something that she would have liked.

Mrs Potter giggled now. "Deal," she told him. "And remember that you can move in here if… if your father insists that you two live at the Manor and you don't want to, I mean… Grimmauld Place is big too… I know it's not like the Manor, but…"

"I'd rather live under a bridge than living at the Manor with my father any longer," he told her seriously.

Once again that evening Scorpius was surprised by Mrs Potter's reply. "You shouldn't be so hard on your father, Scorpius," she told him gently, "yes, he might have a terrible taste in Crups' names, but he is not the same man who bought you a… who bought you Scarlet for Christmas." Her voice dropped a little and she looked away from Scorpius.

"He didn't… he didn't change… he is… I don't think I can forgive him," he growled softly.

"Well, then, consider this," she murmured, "if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Because Lily wouldn't be wanting to go live by herself or because we wouldn't be awake because of the Crups?" he snorted.

"Neither, because he reminded me that I can't keep her with me forever," she murmured, "because he told me that it's time for me to let her go." She scratched her temple and added, "With his weird Crup metaphor…" She sighed. "I mean, Harry and Ron and Hermione had already told me those things over and over again, but… I think I needed to hear it from someone else. From someone who didn't have anything to lose or to gain from this situation. Someone who would tell me just because he knew it was the right thing to do…"

Scorpius lowered his eyes. His father had done that? Really? His father? The one person who had bought him a prostitute as a Christmas present? The one person who had been sent to Azkaban? The one who was friends with the man who had raped and forced Lily to sell her body ever since she was nine years old? Scorpius was slow to forgive, he knew that. He still hadn't forgiven Albus after he had told Lily about the surprise birthday party Scorpius was organising for her three years ago. How could he forgive his father?

"He loves you, Scorpius," murmured Mrs Potter, "I'm sure he is hurt by the fact that you don't want to talk to him…"

Scorpius looked back at her, but he couldn't find anything to say. It didn't matter how hard he tried to put the words together, every response he could give now seemed rather petty.

"Think about it," she told him when he didn't reply. "Now," she continued in a more business-like voice, "let's talk about your engagement to my daughter. I'd quite like for you to ask her to marry you before she's even trying to look for a place where to stay."

"I'd like that too," he replied.

"Good, then we shall organise an engagement party," she told him, "Mister Potter and I had ours at the Burrow. There were quite a few people, you know. It was absolutely—"

"Yes," he cut her off, "and I'm sure my mother would like to have a grandiose party at the Manor." He took a deep breath and finally said, "I'd like to ask her alone first though. I want it… I want it to special."

Mrs Potter smiled warmly and stood up, the Crup finally asleep in her arms. "And it will be," she murmured going to him and bending to kiss his forehead. "I'm sure it'll be. Good night, Scorpius."

"Good night, Mrs Potter," he replied and then stared as she made her way back to her room.

oooOOOooo

Lily checked the Grandfather Clock near the door of the Ladybird Room for the umpteenth time. It was well past eleven now, soon she would have had to escort the children to the canteen and then they would have taken their nap and then it was story time, a bit of play time and finally they would have wanted to colour, and she would have had to glue things together to prepare those Valentine's Cards that the children were supposed to give to their parents the upcoming Saturday.

But despite the fact that Lily had the whole day planned out, that her students looked quite vivacious and content to be there, and that she was all happy to have spent the night sandwiched between Sparky and Scorpius, she couldn't help fretting.

Alfie was not there. His mother hadn't Floo Called to let her know what had happened, if Alfie wasn't feeling well or if they had some kind of emergency or if something else had happened. She always insisted with the parents that they should let her know why their children couldn't come to school, because she fretted when she didn't see them in the classroom so unexpectedly like today. They were ickle things, after all, anything could have happened to them.

The bell that signalled that lunch was about to be served in the canteen rang loudly throughout the whole school and the children screamed happily at the thought of warm food filling their small bellies.

They jumped up from their little chairs and went to crowd around Lily, looking up at her with big eyes and expecting her to tell them how to queue properly that morning to reach the cafeteria.

"Two by two, children," she told them gently, "Remus and Martha on the front, and don't pull that face Remus, Martha is adorable. There, and you all queue behind them, yes, take the hand of the child next to you and… right, there's only eleven of you today… Come here, Bridget, I'll take your hand." She stood at the bottom of the queue of children and told them not to run as they walked to the canteen and laughed and chatted about who could eat more pasta that day.

Lily giggled at their discourses, but once they set foot in the cafeteria they ran towards the two little tables that were designed exactly for them, and took possession of the plastic cutlery there. "Be good and I'll go and tell the house-elves that we are here and that they can make our lunch appear, okay?"

They all nodded meekly and Lily could feel their big eyes following her as she walked to the kitchen. The house-elves squealed in delight as they started to put the pasta on some little, colourful plates with little witches playing Quidditch and wizards doing spells on the bottom.

"Oh, Lily," said Betsy, almost bumping into her as she tried to get within earshot of the house-elves too. "We're here too," she told them as she flattened against the door, before turning to Lily. "How are you?" she asked brightly. "All set for the outing tomorrow?"

Lily nodded. "All set for the outing, but… I have a student who didn't come this morning and the parents didn't even send a note or anything," she murmured, "do you think I should send Scorpius to investigate?"

"Oh, dear," murmured Betsy, "I… I don't know. I think… maybe talk with Miss Mitzy first?" She bit her bottom lip and half smiled at her. "I mean, I think you should ask her if it's alright to send someone to the house of a child just because he didn't turn up at school… Maybe they had some kind of emergency, and they wouldn't appreciate to see Aurors at their door…" She smiled reassuringly as she looked at her now. "And you need to ask for the address anyway, in case she agrees that it's wise to send someone…"

"Oh no," replied Lily promptly, "I remember it. I remember every address of every child."

Betsy nodded. "I forgot you have your superpower," she chuckled, "well, it's quite convenient to remember all the addresses of the children in your class. It'll surely make you save quite a bit of time when you have to send out things."

"Every child in the school," she corrected Betsy serenely, "and what their parents do, and who to contact in case something happens and what every child is allergic to and—"

"Right, Lily," giggled Betsy, stopping her midsentence, "I envy you. I can't even remember some of the surnames of the children I teach, can you believe it?"

Now it was Lily's time to giggle. No, she couldn't believe it. To her it was just normal to remember everything about everybody. She remembered every name of every person she had ever met, she remembered every place she'd ever been, she remembered everything.

"I should go and talk to Miss Mitzy then," she said thoughtfully. "I'm sure she'll understand that it's quite a situation."

"Lily, maybe he's just sick," pointed out Betsy calmly, "I think you worry because you live with too many Aurors…"

Lily smiled at her. "Probably I do…" Then she remembered something. "Oh! Betsy, I have so many things to tell you, by the way! I got a Crup yesterday, and I'm moving out of Grimmauld Place soon! Isn't that exciting?"

oooOOOooo

"Thank me," said Albus, crumbling up a piece of paper in front of Scorpius and throwing it away.

"For what?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I was almost going to request a Portkey to Romania, but didn't," replied Albus, sitting across from Scorpius and smiling.

Scorpius' grey eyes seemed to bulge out of his orbits. "Beg your pardon?" he asked sharply. "You were going to request a Portkey to Romania?"

Albus looked at him as if he was stupid. Well, sometimes he did think that Scorpius was stupid, then he remembered that he had saved his little sister and usually sent that thought at the back of his head. "To go and talk to my uncle, naturally," he replied. "But apparently, Uncle Charlie is coming home tomorrow for Valentine's Day or something. I think he wants to spend the day with my grandma, I guess… or maybe he finally decided to bring someone home."

Scorpius gaped at him. "Why on earth would we want to talk to your uncle?" he asked without understanding.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Remember what Luna said?"

"She said a lot of things and most of them didn't make sense," snorted Scorpius, "I remember that she said something about the bat that we had for lunch…"

"She said that Magizoologists and Herbologists all keep in contact with each other," he reminded him, "so…"

"So what? Your uncle is a freaking Dragonologist," he pointed out, "what would it even be his connection with Toots and Sprout?"

"Well, I don't know, but it's called an investigation, right? That's what we do, remember? We are Aurors, we go and ask questions…"

Now it was Scorpius' time to roll his eyes. "Right, I have some great news actually. I've got ourselves another case."

Albus' mouth opened wide. "What the hell, Scorpius!" he snapped. "I thought you agreed that there was something here!"

"There is," he replied calmly, "but at the same time, you know that I was working on the unicorn case with James, right? And that when James and Rose had gotten drunk during duty they had to pass that case to Hugo and Emeric? Well, Hugo and Emeric just dropped that case, they said it wasn't going anywhere, that they even went to the Ministry library to do some research and couldn't find anything about unicorn blood that they didn't know already. So they were super happy when they found the body of a wealthy wizard in Diagon Alley last night, and… well, they are investigating on that now."

Albus folded his arms across his chest. "So what? You got ourselves two cases?"

"Well, put two and two together, you genius," he growled. "One is a case about plants and plant-loving people and the other is about unicorns. We can basically interrogate the same people since there's this great community of magical flora and fauna aficionados."

Albus thought for a moment about his words. After all, Scorpius wasn't that wrong, was he? They could always ask Uncle Charlie about the unicorns, ask him if he knew anything about the uses of the blood that they didn't already know and maybe ask him even about other things—

"Great," said Scorpius, not waiting for an answer from Albus, "I have to go to the Archive for a second, now. I will see you at lunch, Al."

Albus stared as he stood up and walked to the door, without a further glance to his Auror partner. He couldn't even ask him why he wanted to go to the archive that the blond man was gone, leaving Albus in his office all alone.

oooOOOooo

Rose wanted to cry, she could actually feel her bottom lip trembling and her eyesight blurring slightly.

Scorpius was an insensitive git. She couldn't believe that he was asking her… _that!_ She had just been dumped, didn't he remember that? Honestly!

Showing her that gigantic ring and asking her what she thought was the best way to ask Lily to marry him was not okay. Well, thank you very much, Mr Insensitivity. She should have started crying right there and then. She knew how much he hated crying girls, she should have done that just for a little vendetta. Started the whole _nobody wants me, nobody loves me, I'll never get married_ charade. Except, it wasn't exactly a charade and she wasn't exactly comfortable telling him those things.

She pushed the ring back into his hand and took a deep breath. "Nice ring," she finally told him. "Not really my style, but I'm sure Lily won't complain too much."

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow as he pocketed the box once again. "Well, thank you," he muttered, "I guess…"

Rose folded her arms across her chest. "Well, what do you need me for?" she asked rather sourly. _Apart from making me want to wear that ring and punch you on your nose with it._

Scorpius took a deep breath. "I… I just wanted a suggestion," he whispered, glancing over at James who seemed to be trying to listen to them without managing. "I want to make the moment I ask Lily unforgettable for her, but—"

Rose flared her nostrils. "Well, Valentine's Day is right around the corner," she huffed, "book a nice restaurant in Diagon Alley and ask her there. Just like every normal person would do."

Scorpius shook his head. "That was my initial plan," he replied, "but I can't wait for Valentine's Day. I have to ask her before she decides to move out of Grimmauld Place."

Rose furrowed her brow. What the heck was he talking about? "Move out? Move where?"

Scorpius shrugged a shoulder. "A flat somewhere her and Sparky alone…"

"Who's Sparky?" What was happening? He had seen Lily on Saturday evening, how many things had happened in a day and a half?

"Her Crup," replied Scorpius. "Listen if you want to know everything that happened yesterday you can ask your aunt, for now I just need you to come up with some nice idea on how I could ask her… You're intelligent, Rose, it pains me to admit that, but you're intelligent."

"Well, obviously a nice idea would be not to ask me," she snapped, "since I've just been dumped." And there she went, if he said the word 'marry' once more, Rose was sure that she would have jumped at his throat like a werewolf. And then she would have sent a _I'm sorry I killed your soon-to-be fiancé with my teeth and nails_ card. Surely they would have something like that at Flourish and Blotts.

"Okay," he replied quietly, "but you're a girl and Lily keeps saying that you're her best friend… I mean, you should know her…"

Was he trying to make her feel guilty? Because he was succeeding pretty well… Rose bit her bottom lip and let out a sigh. "Okay," she finally conceded, "okay. Well, what does Lily like?"

"Me?" grinned Scorpius.

Rose's eyes narrowed. "Yes, and I can't understand why," she hissed. "She likes Chocolate Frogs, books, children, presents, laughter…" She looked at Scorpius and raised her eyebrows. "Nothing? I'm trying to do a little brainstorming here…"

"I'm just imagining myself dressed as a child bringing her a book about Chocolate Frogs as a present…"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Forget it," she muttered, "just be natural. Invite her upstairs to the little terrace on top of Grimmauld Place – yes, don't pull that face, there is one and I know you don't know about it because Aunt Ginny never lets Lily go up there since she thinks it's too cold, too high, too dangerous. But you prepare a little night-time picnic – set up a couple of Heating Charms, maybe – and she'll be ecstatic to be up there, the view is breathtaking and she'll get all happy and then you'll ask her to marry you and she'll say yes even to you…"

"Hey!" grunted Scorpius.

"I meant especially to you," sighed Rose. "Happy, now? Can you leave me alone with my pain?"

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow at her. "Pain? I know what happened at the party, the only pain there was there I think it was that on Emeric's cheek…" he replied amused.

Rose felt her cheeks go up in flames. "That's none of your business," she replied, her voice too high to not sound upset. "He was being a jerk! I am not surprised he's your friend."

"Yeah, right," he murmured, "you were his girlfriend for five years."

She crossed her arms on her chest. "I just helped you out planning the way to ask your girlfriend to marry you," she pointed out, before smirking in a slight Slytherin way, "and I'd advise you to mind your own business unless you want me to accidentally tell Lily that you're about to ask her to marry you…"

Scorpius glared at her, but she just glared right back at him.

"Well played," he muttered, stretching a hand for her to shake.

She shook it. "Well, that's what happens when I'm forced to see you every day at work and then even at my uncle's and aunt's house…"

oooOOOooo

Draco tapped his cane on the floor and flared his nostrils irritably. His grey eyes gaped at the door of the shop impatiently.

"Draco," admonished Astoria, "can you at least pretend you are not bored? You know it's not dignified to act like that in the public eye." She scratched the Kneazle kitten in her arms and smiled.

"I'm not bored, Astoria," he replied seriously, "I'm just irritated that we have to come to Magical Menagerie to suggest to Ginny Potter what kind of Crup food to buy for the pup she stole from me."

"She didn't steal a pup from you, Draco," Astoria tried to reason, "you gave it to her because we are going to be in-laws, and that's what family does. And you didn't have to come, she owled me and I am more than happy to meet Ginevra here… and Draco…"

Draco glanced at her wife. "No, out of the question."

"But I've always wanted a—"

"We already have three owls and a litter of Crups back at home," he told her. "We don't need a Kneazle."

She grabbed the animal under its shoulders and pushed it in front of Draco's face. "But it's so soft," she murmured, "touch it… isn't it soft?"

Draco's nostrils flared again, but he complied. Yes, the animal was soft and let out the most adorable sounds with its defenceless _miiii_. But Draco was more of a Crup person, rather than a Kneazle lover.

"Aww," the unwelcome voice of Ginny Potter reached Draco's ears, "isn't that adorable?"

Astoria pushed the kitten into Draco's arms. "Ginevra," she exclaimed, walking past her husband and going to kiss Ginny Potter's cheeks, "it's been too long, when are you coming to visit us at the Manor?"

"She was there yesterday, Astoria," hissed Draco, but his comment seemed to go ignored by the two women, who were just exchanging pleasantries as if they were old friends.

Ginny Potter smiled warmly as she linked arms with Astoria. "I know, but I guess that we'll see each other much more often now that Scorpius is about to ask Lily to marry him, right?"

Astoria looked at her, her eyes shining with emotion. "Ginevra," she murmured, "does that mean that… that you agreed to the engagement?"

Draco stared at the red-haired woman as she shifted her eyes on him. "I believe you have to thank your husband for that," she said softly, "he suggested my daughter to go and live by herself, and made me understand that I need to let her live her life." She sighed and smiled as she looked back at Astoria. "And I can't forbid Scorpius from asking her hand, he loves her, she loves him, why would I not give my blessing to them?"

Astoria brought a hand to her mouth and smiled as she turned her head towards her husband. "You did that, Draco?"

Draco felt his face heat up. He shifted the kitten in his arms and darkened. "I was just talking about Crups," he mumbled.

"Oh yes, you were," mocked Ginny Potter with a grin.

Draco took a deep breath, his chest swelling up as he caressed the purring Kneazle in his arms. "Did you sleep well last night, Potter?" he asked, trying hard not to sneer. Surely she had gone through the wailing and tossing and turning with Brutus for most part of the night and surely – even though she must have concealed her tiredness with some charm – she must have been absolutely knackered.

"Well," she started, "Lily said that Sparky settled down rather quickly. He slept in her bed and pushed Scorpius away. While Patches was—"

"Who's Patches?" asked Draco darkly.

"Why, my Crup," she replied serenely.

Draco flared his nostrils again. "His name is Brutus," he reminded her, "Brutus Armand Star de la Flamboyant Sea."

"Yes," replied Ginny Potter, "which is slightly inconvenient when I have to call him. Patches is much easier and _nicer_. Plus, you let Lily name her Crup…"

"Well, she didn't steal it out of my kennel," he pointed out sharply.

Ginny Potter shook her head. "Neither did I," she replied cheekily, "we are almost family, Malfoy, you can't steal from family."

"Yes, you can and the only reason why I didn't call the Aurors is because half of them are related to you," he told her sourly.

"Oh my," murmured Astoria, "Ginevra, dear, I'm sure Draco means that you can call the pup as you prefer, since he's yours now."

"No, I—"

"And that he shall escort you to choose the most apt Crup food as well as the best accessories to take care of Sparky and Patches," she continued, "I, in the meantime, will go and pay for this fluffy ball of fur." She took the Kneazle from Draco's arms and before he could even protest she was already standing in front of the counter.

He tried to babble something, but suddenly Draco felt rather helpless with all those minxes surrounding him. They knew perfectly well how to play him and they were doing that at that very moment to get anything they wanted.

"I talked to your son, last night," whispered Ginny Potter suddenly, her fingers fiddling with the scarf around her neck. "I told him what you did for him… for us."

Draco glanced askew at her before proceeding to blush. "I was just talking about the Crups," he repeated nervously, before pointing towards a shelf stacked with Crup food and accessories.

"Oh yes you were," said Ginny Potter again, patting his shoulder. "Yes, you were."

oooOOOooo

Rose Weasley – despite her being incredibly annoying at times as well as rather stubborn and an insufferable know-it-all – was a genius. Naturally, Scorpius wouldn't have been able to tell her that without suffering the consequences – which were her telling him in her condescending tone that she knew that she was a genius – but he could think that in the privacy of his own mind.

The terrace on top of Grimmauld Place was small, but quite romantic. Of course, all it needed was a couple of Scouring Charms, a nice Heating Charm for the lady and a picnic blanket with some food and something to drink and quite a few candles.

And Lily, naturally.

Not Albus.

Lily.

"I can't believe you're going to ask my sister to marry you," Albus murmured, balancing his buttocks on the iron balustrade that contoured the terrace. "I mean, she keeps saying, 'When Scorpius and I get married,' and 'When I'll live with Scorpius…' but still… It's kind of a shock."

Scorpius glanced at him askew. "It's a shock to me that you'll become part of my family," he pointed out, "so we are kind of even."

Albus shrugged a shoulder. "Fair enough," he replied, "and when are you going to ask her? Valentine's Day? Oh Scorpius, you are so romantic…"

Scorpius glared at him. "Valentine's Day is too predictable," he pointed out, "I want a special day, a day that it's all ours, a day that we—oh, never mind. You wouldn't understand."

"Hey, I'm romantic too!" protested Albus. "Ask Miriam…"

"She is your brother's ex-girlfriend," told him Scorpius dryly, "nothing romantic about snogging her at the same party where your brother is invited too. Just a little bit creepy." He looked away and muttered, "Or just as nuts as kissing and then slapping your ex in front of everybody…"

"Are you talking about Emeric and Rose?" chuckled Albus.

Scorpius glanced at him. "I wasn't there, but I've been told about the whole scene…"

Albus shrugged a shoulder. "It looked a bit like Emeric still had some feelings for Rose, if you ask me," he murmured.

Scorpius nodded and he was right about to start gossiping like one of Albus' cousins, when he glanced at his watch and saw the time. "I have to go and pick up Lily," he said, "don't tell a soul about this."

Albus shrugged a shoulder as he jumped down from the balustrade. "Who would I tell?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Your cousins, your brother, your parents, your grandparents, your sister, your—"

"Whoa! Alright, you made your point," he huffed. "Now go and get Lily and don't dawdle."

Scorpius smirked. "Why? Do you worry?"

"Nope, I'm hungry."

oooOOOooo

"…and he didn't show up, Teddy, like never, for the whole day. And I asked Miss Mitzy and she said that if he doesn't come for the whole week then you can go to their house and investigate, but that one day of absence is not enough to alert the Aurors."

"She's right," replied Teddy, nodding seriously. "I'm sure everything is more than fine with Alfie. He's the small child that never speaks too much, isn't he? I don't think he came to Remus' birthday party."

Lily shook her head. "No, he didn't," she replied, "there was Martha, Bridget, Charlie, Mary—"

"Okay," sighed Teddy. Man, that girl made him look like a bad father when she listed down everything about his son and he just could not. "He is not very outgoing, maybe it's a family thing and they don't send out owls if there's nothing out of the ordinary."

Lily lowered her eyes, looking positively unconvinced. "I always tell the parents to owl me when the children can't come," she murmured, "that I worry. I'm worrying, Teddy."

"I know, Lils," he told her gently, patting her shoulder. He needed to change the subject before she asked him to go and check the house straight away once again and then the family reported him for trespassing. "Harry said that you want to move out of Grimmauld Place," he told her, "where did that come from, Lily?"

She smiled almost excitedly now. "Oh, isn't that great? Mister Malfoy told me that I should go, right when he gave me Sparky, he's my Crup, you know, he's just a pup but he's cool, and he cried only a little bit last night, and my mum got a Crup too. You should bring Remus to see them, they are really pretty and sweet."

Teddy nodded, wide-eyed. "And you… you just want to go? Live alone?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Didn't you live alone too, Teddy? Before you got married to Victoire?"

"Well, I… kind of… I mean, Vicky was always there," he replied thoughtfully, "it's like I've never lived alone, really… it's just… it's a bit lonely to live alone."

"But I won't be living alone," she told him cheerfully. "I will be living with Sparky."

Teddy cocked an eyebrow. "Oh right," he murmured, "poor Sparky and you're going to leave him home alone all day in a small flat in Diagon Alley when you're working then?"

She stopped smiling for a second and then her lips parted slightly in surprise. "I… I haven't thought about it," she murmured, "he's going to suffer away from me all day long…"

Teddy tried hard to keep himself from smiling. Well, if he managed to convince Lily not to go and live alone, his godfather had to give him the biggest present ever. Even bigger than the Firebolt 3000 that he had got him for his seventeen birthday.

"Hi Lily," said a voice at Teddy's back.

It was Scorpius. Naturally.

Lily went to him at once and in the minutes that they were kissing, and then Lily was filling him in on Alfie and her thoughts about living alone, Teddy had managed to grab Remus, make him wear his little coat and push his stuff into the schoolbag.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Lils," he told her.

She nodded. "Yes, remember that we're coming to the Ministry tomorrow!"

He groaned a little, he had completely forgotten about that too. "Right, Lils, of course I remember. Ah, Scorpius. How's the Toots case going on?"

Scorpius shrugged a shoulder. "We're going to talk to Charlie tomorrow, just because he probably knew Toots and Sprout."

"Are you going to Romania?" asked Lily, her voice rather whiney and disappointed. "But I'm coming to the Ministry with the children!"

Scorpius shook his head. "Your uncle is coming home tomorrow. We'll be away only for a couple of hours," he told her with a smile. "Al said Charlie wants to spend Valentine's Day with his mother…"

"Aww," swooned Lily, "that's so sweet!"

Teddy snorted. "Charlie has received too many blows in the head from those dragons…" Lily glared at him and Teddy raised his hands near his face. "I mean, I'm happy for the old man… I think Remus and I will go now, see you tomorrow guys."

They didn't even reply, but the moment Teddy had picked up Remus and walked slowly to the door he could already hear the smooching sound of kissing going on at his back.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to my dear reviewers! Now, if our heroes have been lazing about until now, things are going to get hectic from this chapter onwards. Buckle up, guys because the upcoming chapters are going to be wild!

Concrit about the way I wrote the mystery is well accepted. I'm no good with mysteries!

To hashi: Well, dear, those questions were too interesting not to answer them! Lily is lovely and nice and beautiful and always sees good in everyone, you're right. The students at school were not all nice with her, and they could be divided into two groups. Some of them were lovely and understanding and nice and gentle with her. Some others were mean to her, called her names behind her back because of her past and even to her face. But luckily she had her knight even at school. Hugo, not Scorpius, because she started at Hogwarts the year after Scorpius finished. For the two years that he was there Hugo looked out for her as if he was her own brother. Then, naturally, people were also rather scared of her mother, who seemed to hang out with her most of the time. And when Scorpius visited on the weekends he always wanted to know if everything was alright and if he had to hex someone. Hmm, I didn't write any Lily/random guy interaction, but I think that even if the guy was flirting with her she wouldn't even realise, blinded as she is by her love for Scorpius. I'm glad you like the way I describe the characters. I always try to flesh them out a little. Thank you for all your comments dear! You always make me so happy!

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

The Burrow was a nice, peaceful place.

Of course, it was also the place where a nine-year-old Lily had been kidnapped by a tall man with a mask near the edge at the end of garden… but now it wasn't that anymore. Lily came every summer to swim in the pond and was very fond of her grandparents.

And of that place. And of her Uncle Charlie.

And who wouldn't be? Charlie Weasley always came back home with tons of presents and hundreds of anecdotes about dragons. _Dragons_. Who on earth wasn't fond of stories about dragons?

Right now, though, all Scorpius and Albus were craving were stories about plants and unicorns. And about Toots and Sprout.

"Tilden was a bit of a loony," Charlie told them as he stretched his arms on the back of the couch, "not as loony as his wife, but still…"

"And what about Professor Sprout?" asked Scorpius.

"Sprout was alright back in the days," he told them, "when she taught at Hogwarts and stuff, but lately… well, she'd lost it a bit, hadn't she? I mean, went up to the Highlands all alone at her age… of course then it's easy to drink the wrong infuse and end up dead…"

Albus nodded and so did Scorpius. "But you knew them," said Albus, "I mean, Luna and Rolf said that Herbologists and Magizoologists all know each other…"

Charlie shrugged a shoulder. "Well, I knew Toots because he came to Romania once to collect some Romanian Peonies for his garden," he told them, "and I vaguely remember him asking about mythical flowers of Europe…"

"Mythical flowers?" asked Scorpius, furrowing his brow. That was new. "What mythical flowers?"

"Well, Scorpius," said Charlie, "you know, I'm not an expert in flowers, but… the Lady's Slipper for example, or the Black Daisy, the Fairy Wing Dahlia, the Golden Orchid, the Spotted Poppy…"

"Wow, luckily you're not an expert, Uncle Charlie," pointed out Albus.

"Wait a second," cut in Scorpius, "what was that one again?"

"The Spotted Poppy? Oh, it's quite interesting, it's a poppy that is—"

"No, no, the one before that."

"The Golden Orchid?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Well, it's a mythical flower, as I told you, and not much is really known about it. Just that it has the shape of an orchid and that… well, it's gold…"

"You don't say," sighed Scorpius.

"Hey! But Luna said that Toots was working on orchids," exclaimed Albus, finally getting there himself. "The Golden Orchid, do you think… do you think he was working on the Golden Orchid?" Albus' voice was rather excited for someone who was talking about something he didn't even know what it was.

"Might be," replied Scorpius cautiously, before looking back at Charlie. "What about unicorns? What can you tell us about them?"

"That all girls are crazy about unicorns," he chuckled, "I got into more knickers after a herd was found near the Reserve than—"

"Charlie!" exclaimed Lily's grandmother from the kitchen door, brandishing a wooden spoon in her hand. "Don't talk like that in front of those young, innocent boys!"

"Innocent?" muttered Charlie. "If you two are innocent, I am the Queen of Britain."

Scorpius lowered his eyes, his cheeks heating up. Well, he was innocent. What was wrong with that? Almost twenty-four and still innocent. He set his jaw and tried to think about the ring in his pocket. _Innocent not for long_…

"As I was saying, the only thing I know about unicorns is that they are very useful when it's up to woo a lady," he said, glancing at the kitchen door though which Mrs Weasley had just disappeared. "And also they are much more innocent animals than you two are…"

Scorpius rolled his eyes, but luckily at that moment Molly Weasley walked back into the living room. "Are you coming for dinner tonight, Scorpius?" she asked sweetly.

Scorpius smiled as gently as he could. "I'd love to, Mrs Weasley," he replied, "but I'm afraid I'm expected at Grimmauld Place tonight right after—"

"Oh, but everybody is coming here, dear," she cut him off, "to celebrate Charlie's return."

Scorpius let out a sigh. Right the night he had wanted to finally get Lily alone up to the terrace. "I didn't know that," he replied, glancing reproachfully at Albus. "I wouldn't want to disturb your family reunion…"

"Nonsense," replied Albus, standing up and patting his shoulder, "you're almost family anyway."

"Almost family?" asked Charlie. "What do you mean?"

Albus stopped in his tracks and looked at Scorpius, biting his bottom lip. Scorpius tried to murder him with his glare. "He means because of Teddy, since he is married to Victoire and he is my second cousin, we are basically almost family." He wanted to add 'unluckily', as he thought of Albus, but didn't.

Charlie laughed heartedly. "Well, aren't you complicated? Let's have a Butterbeer, shall we?"

"We're on du—"

"Great idea, Uncle Charlie, you're definitely my favourite uncle!"

oooOOOooo

Lily had never seen the toddlers being so excited. All those days at the school when they threw toys at each other and screamed and jumped up and down were nothing compared to that morning at the Ministry. She had to charm some children's hands together to keep them from running here and there as they all followed her father around the place.

Since she had the children aged two to five, the tour of the Ministry that they were taking was a special one, different from that of the older children. It was shorter and Lily thought also more interesting, since they had to keep the children captivated.

Therefore the Head Auror himself as well as Auror Teddy Lupin and Auror Rose Weasley, were guiding them through the Department of Magical Games and Sports, where they had prepared some little toy broomsticks for the children to securely fly around in a room filled with Cushioning Charms. Once they left that department, they were brought to the Portkey Office where they were given Portkeys that would activate with touch and transport them a few feet away. The children laughed and screamed all the time, happy beyond words to do such unusual things and to find themselves in a new and incredibly exciting environment, so different from the school.

"Alright," said Lily's father when the children had all been transported here and there for the room. "Shall we go back to the Ministry Atrium? There's lunch awaiting the children and the adults as well."

There was a mildly interested chorus of yeses, but some children seemed rather disappointed to have to go.

"Come on Joshua," said Lily patiently, "give me the—" She Portekeyed a few feet away. "—Portkey. Oh! I guess that was silly."

Her father chuckled as the Ministry employees came to collect the Portkeys from the children with some special gloves.

Teddy picked up Remus, while Rose took a couple of children by their hands and Lily's father grabbed one who was trying to touch the remaining Portkeys over and over again.

Lily grabbed Martha's hand and Jenny's. "Let's go, aren't you hungry?" she asked gently.

"Chocolate!" exclaimed Remus.

"Yeah, right," replied Teddy, shaking his head, "you're going to have something healthy, and no sugar!"

Remus pouted, but he let his father carry him through the corridors and up the stairs and back to the Ministry Atrium.

The food was already set on the tables and there were benches where the children could sit and eat the sandwiches and little hot dogs and meat pies and other delicious-looking foods.

Uncle Ron was already stuffing his mouth with mini hot dogs and Aunt Hermione was scolding him and talking about a diet that he seemed to never be able to stick to.

"John, don't push Mary!" said Lily sternly as they made their way to the table. "Remus no, look, Daddy is here what if—oh!" Suddenly, Lily's eyes were covered by two warm hands.

"Guess who?" murmured a voice in her ear.

She smiled. "Hmm, my boyfriend?"

"Ten points to miss Potter," murmured Scorpius as he let her turn in his arms.

"Only ten?" he pouted.

"Okay… Twenty," he agreed.

"I'm glad you're back," she grinned, "how was Uncle Charlie?"

"He's well," replied Scorpius, "we're going to have dinner at the Burrow tonight. How are the midgets?"

"They are good," she replied with a smile. "They enjoyed the toy broomsticks and the mini Portkeys immensely."

"Good to hear," he smiled at her. "And I'm going to walk around the Ministry with you for the rest of the afternoon, I've already asked the Head Auror…"

"Awesome," she replied, standing on tiptoes to kiss him.

He smiled against her lips. "Shall we get something to eat?"

"Hmm, you go ahead, I'll check on the children and will get something in a second."

He nodded at her and when she turned she found Martha covered in pumpkin juice and Lily hurried to clean her with a swish of her wand.

oooOOOooo

The sandwiches were delicious, and they were cut into little adorable shapes: hearts, flowers and stars. And the pumpkin juice was flowing like Albus had never seen it before. Merlin, but they had to invite those midgets more often at the Ministry! The food at the canteen tasted like poo compared to that.

"I've just met my future wife," said a voice next to him.

He turned to find Alastair O'Keefe, a tall, sandy-haired Auror trainee fresh from out of Hogwarts, leaning against the table which was covered in sweets offered by Honeydukes.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Albus, swallowing his umpteenth sandwich.

He nodded in front of him. "That girl there," he replied, "the cute teacher. Man, she's hot."

Albus turned and followed the young man's gaze only to find himself staring at his own sister. Of course, the cute teacher… He took a deep breath. "She's not hot," he told him dryly, "she's pretty."

He snorted back at him. "She's hot and Merlin! I would bugger—hey! No, no, no! What's Malfoy doing?"

Albus was about to tell him that he wouldn't have buggered her even if he tried because there were at least fifty people at the Ministry who would have prevented that when, on the other side of the Atrium, Scorpius offered Lily a glass of pumpkin juice and she smiled and kissed his cheek to thank him.

"He's flirting with her!" spat O'Keefe disgustedly. "I mean, isn't he in some kind of relationship with your sister, Potter? I mean, he can't have all the pretty girls!"

Albus looked at him as if he was stupid, but the man's eyes were trained on Lily.

"He is my sister's boyfriend," he told him flatly.

"Well, go on and tell him something then!" he huffed, turning to look at him.

Albus merely cocked an eyebrow and that gesture alone seemed to be enough for the other Auror to understand. "Oh!" he finally let out, disappointed and embarrassed at the same time.

"Yeah."

"She's your sister?" he asked in disbelief. "But… but… she's so hot! She doesn't look anything like you!"

"Hey!" snapped Albus. "What's that supposed to mean?" He darkened and added, "She takes after my mother and I take after my father."

The other Auror shook his head and sighed discomfited to understand that his 'future wife' had already been taken.

oooOOOooo

That evening, they had dinner at the Burrow, and Uncle Charlie had the most amazing stories. And then, the rest of the week went by pretty quickly. After her conversation with Teddy about her moving, the outing at the Ministry and with Uncle Charlie home, Lily forgot that she had wanted to look for a flat for herself and her Crup.

She also fretted every day more when she didn't see Alfie in her class, and kept furrowing her brow at Scorpius who looked increasingly nervous for some obscure reason that she couldn't understand.

In the following evenings, they always had dinner at the Burrow and Lily got to show Sparky and Patches to the rest of the family. Hugo was absolutely ecstatic at the sight of the two pups, and started pestering Scorpius every single evening about asking for a free Crup to Mr Malfoy. Aunt Hermione, on the other hand, just listened with a smile on her face as Lily's mother talked about the kitten Mrs Malfoy had brought home from Magical Menagerie.

"They really look like your Patronus, Dad," said Rose with a smile.

Uncle Ron nodded as he petted Sparky. "Yeah, they do," he replied, "maybe I should go and steal a Crup from your father too, Scorpius…"

Scorpius swallowed and Lily could feel it next to her temple. "Yes, Sir," he replied stiffly, his fingers squeezing her shoulder, "he has a litter right now, so…"

She stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "You are too nice," she murmured against his skin.

He smiled softly and turned to kiss her forehead. "I wasn't before I met you," he told her, "you ruined me."

She giggled and tightened her arms around his waist. "Are you okay?" she asked softly against his chest.

"Yes," he replied just as quietly, "why do you ask?"

She shook her head. "You just look rather tense," she whispered, "as if… I don't know…"

He turned and enveloped her in his arms, leaning his cheek against the top of her head. "I'm sorry," he replied, "I just have some things on my mind and…"

"Do you want to talk about them?" she asked softly. "You know I love to listen to you."

He tilted her head upwards and kissed her softly on her lips. She felt the eyes of her family being trained upon them, but she ignored them altogether. All that mattered at that moment was Scorpius.

When he released her lips she smiled softly at him.

"Did Alfie show up at school?" he asked her, pulling a lock of hair behind her ear.

She shook her head. "I'm really worried, Scorpius," she murmured, "promise me that if he doesn't show up by the end of the week, you'll go and check on him."

"I promise," he replied sweetly. "I'll drag Al all the way to… where do they live?"

"70 Bishop's Rd, Cambridge CB2 9NQ, UK," she said. "Maybe I can come with you, surely they'll know that we don't mean any harm if I come. And I really want to see Alfie."

Scorpius smiled at her. "Of course," he replied, "but I hope he'll be back before Friday. I'm sure that everything is just fine with him."

"I hope so," she sighed, leaning her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and let Scorpius' soft breathing cradle her head up and down on his chest. He was warm and his arms hugged her tightly and she felt safe and—

"Shall we head back to Grimmauld Place?" he asked, his voice almost high-pitched with nervousness. "We could enjoy the peace and calm of your house without anybody to disturb us for a bit…"

She smiled and looked up at him. "Sounds good," she murmured, "let's go."

He grinned and when Lily grasped his hand to drag him towards her mother to let her know that they were going home a bit earlier, she could feel that he was shaking slightly.

"Okay," said her mother, glancing at Scorpius and giving him the hint of a smile. "Sure, Lily, we'll be here a little bit longer. Do you want to leave Sparky here with us?"

"Oh, I don't know," she replied, looking at the pup as he trotted towards her and wagged his tail happily. "Maybe he's going to miss me…"

"Lily, dear, we'll be right there," replied her mother gently.

She bit her bottom lip and glanced at Scorpius who nodded eagerly. "Okay," she replied, kneeling to scratch Sparky between his ears. "I'll see you later Sparky, okay? Be a good boy."

The Crup barked twice, but before Lily could scoop him up in her arms, Hugo grabbed him and brought him to his face.

"Hey!" protested Lily. "We were saying goodbye!"

Hugo pouted. "But you're going to see him in a while back at your house," he replied, "I won't see him until tomorrow night…"

Lily's mother sighed. "Well, I surely know what to get you for your birthday, Hugo," she told him gently.

"What?" he asked, eyes wide. "That would be awesome, thank you, Auntie!"

Lily stood up and went to him to rub Sparky's head and the Crup tried to get to her from Hugo. "Bye Sparky! I'm going to miss you," she told him, "behave, okay? Be a good Crup!"

The pup barked again, and Lily would have just wanted to grab him and take him with her, but Scorpius had instead grabbed her wrist and dragged her away. "Let's go," he mumbled, "otherwise your family is going to be there before I even…"

"Before you even?" asked Lily, cocking an eyebrow.

"Nothing," he murmured as he shook his head and offered her some Floo Powder from her grandmother's vase.

She looked at him questioningly, but grabbed a fistful of powder and stepped into the fireplace. She would ask him later. "Twelve, Grimmauld Place," she said out loud, throwing the powder at her feet. She was gone and arrived in a matter of seconds. And she stilled as soon as she had set foot in her house and the faint echo of a noise lingered in the air.

Scorpius was right behind her, and he bumped into her the moment he stumbled out of the hearth. "Oh sorry, Lily," he told her softly, "I need a bit more of space then you do when I get out of—"

She turned and pressed her fingertips to his mouth, bringing her forefinger to her own lips to silence him. Scorpius looked at her without understanding but then his grey eyes seemed to narrow as a frantic knock on the door finally reached their ears.

He kissed her fingertips and moved her hand away. "Stay here," he whispered, drawing out his wand.

She drew out her own wand as well. "No," she let him know as she walked towards the door ahead of him.

"Lily!" Scorpius whispered urgently. She could feel his hand trying to close on her shoulder, but she was already standing in front of the main door and turning the keys and the locks. That was her house, after all, and she was not a child, and honestly! Evil-doers didn't come knocking on people's door in the middle of the week!

"Lily!" hissed Scorpius, trying to push her away. "Stand behind me! Don't… no! Lily!"

But she was already opening the door and dropping her wand in surprise.

"Lily," said a low voice in front of her. "You have to help me."

"Who are you?" asked Scorpius nervously, his arm draping around Lily's shoulders as he tried to push her back. "Show your face. I'm an Auror."

"It's Mrs Whittle, Scorpius," said Lily, moving away from the door to let her in as she knelt to pick up her wand again. They couldn't see her face, but Lily remembered her cloak. She had worn it once, back in November, when she had brought Lily a new box full of crayons for the class. "Come in, Mrs Whittle."

She took a step inside, her boots squelching on the floor as if she had something squishy underneath. She didn't walk too far into the hall though, but stopped and started to fumble with her cloak.

"Are you alright. Mrs Whittle?" asked Lily, concern seeping through every word. "I was worried for Alfie, you didn't owl the school and I was—oh!"

When Mrs Whittle had managed to move away the cloak, she wasted no time to push Alfie into Lily's arms. She grabbed him hastily, afraid to let him fall because of his mother's rapid movements.

"I gave him a sleeping draught," she told her, before looking at her with wide eyes. "Lily, you have to keep him here."

"Keep him here?" repeated Lily upset. "But… but…"

"My husband and his friends need him," she whispered urgently, "they want to use him. I can't let them. You need to hide him, Lily. They will never look for him in this house."

Lily shifted Alfie in her arms.

"What?" asked Scorpius, his grey eyes moving quickly from the child to his mother. "What are you talking about? What does your husband do? If you need to report him, I'm… I'm an Auror, I'll escort you to the Ministry."

She shook her head frantically, her dark hair flying here and there. "I can't," she murmured harshly, "I can't…" She stepped back and rummaged under her cloak once again before drawing out a little bag. "Here," she said. "That's all his stuff… his teddy bear. His teddy bear is very important."

Lily nodded, her heartbeat impossibly loud and quick in her chest. "But… but don't you want to come in? Just for a moment?"

She shook her head. "Take care of him," she whispered. "Please, he is all I have." She stretched her pale hand to caress the child's head and then turned and hurried away.

"Hey!" called Scorpius, running after her. "Wait! You can't—"

His sentence was truncated when she turned and with a last look at Lily and Alfie, she Disapparated into thin air.

"Damn!" muttered Scorpius, as he stared at the place where she had just disappeared.

Lily stared at him as he came back and looked at her with a frantic expression over his face. "I don't know what—"

"I told you there was something wrong!" snapped Lily. "Didn't I tell you? I told you not to give Alfie to his father! I told you, Scorpius! Nobody listens to me! Nobody ever does! I'm just a silly little girl to you!" She felt the tears burning her eyes as she turned away from him and stomped her feet back into the drawing room. She knelt next to the couch and placed Alfie on the soft cushions, rearranging them to create a safe place where to put him.

She drew out her wand. "_Accio Alfie's bag_," she said and there was a small 'oh!' of surprise when the bag was torn from Scorpius' hand and flew next to her. She looked at him and muttered a soft, "Sorry," before she started rummaging through it. She found the teddy bear that he had wanted back at the school and placed it next to the child's sleeping hands.

She smiled as she caressed the hair away from his forehead. He looked so peaceful and little and sweet… how could anybody want to use him? His own father… Lily knew the feeling, she remembered it. Nott had not been her father, but he had made her believe it, and it was more than enough.

No, Alfie was still little and Lily would have spared him the pain and the fear and the suffering that she had gone through. Even if it meant going against Scorpius and her whole family.

"Lily," murmured Scorpius, sitting on the armrest of the couch. "I'm sorry, you were right. You are always right."

She didn't look at him. She kept her eyes on Alfie, still caressing his forehead.

"Lily," he called her again, "we need to call your father and your uncle, if you give them the address, they'll go and check and—"

"I don't care," she told him quietly. "I just want Alfie to be safe."

"Yes, but… you can't keep him…"

She glanced at him. "Of course I can," she replied coldly, "his mother gave him to me. To hide and look after, and I will do that until I die."

"Lily, he's a child," insisted Scorpius, "we need to find his mother again and take her to a safe location and see what's wrong with her husband and their friends."

"I know what's wrong," snapped Lily, standing up, "they like children! Just like Nott!"

Scorpius bit his bottom lip as he tried to stretch a hand towards her. "Lily…"

"I remember everything," she snapped, "don't you forget it!"

He tried to tell her something else, but at that moment, one after the other, the fireplace spat out her family. Albus first with the two Crups in his arms, then her mother and her father.

Lily turned her flushed face to look at them and lowered her eyes as she looked at Alfie's sleeping body.

"Whoa," muttered Albus, "we leave you alone for five minutes and you already have a child? Merlin, Scorpius you don't waste time…"

"Not now, Al," growled Scorpius.

"What's going on?" asked her mother. "Who's that child? What… what's happening?"

Lily went to her and hugged her tightly, surely her mother would understand her. "It's Alfie, Mum," she told her, "Mrs Whittle brought him over. She was scared, she told me I have to hide him. His father… his father wants to use him, Mum…"

Her mother looked just as horrified as Lily felt. "Oh my," she muttered, "use him?"

Lily nodded. "And Scorpius didn't believe me!" she cried. "Nor Teddy or Miss Mitzy! I knew there was something wrong, I knew it, Mum!" She leaned her head against her mother's chest and sobbed loudly.

Her mother's hands went to her head to caress her hair. "Oh no, Lily," she whispered, "he's safe now."

"Scorpius," said her father, "why didn't you stop the woman? We can't keep the child here without… why didn't you stop her? We should have brought her to the Ministry."

"I'm sorry, Sir," murmured Scorpius abashedly.

Lily let her mother go, she wiped away the tears, and turned to look at her father. "It's not his fault, Dad," she said softly, "he tried, but she Disapparated before he could reach her."

Scorpius looked gratefully at her.

Her father glanced from her to him. "Alright," he said, "we need to go and look for the address of Alfie's family then. Whatever this man does, we need to bring him to the Ministry for questioning…"

"70 Bishop's Rd, Cambridge CB2 9NQ, UK," said Lily frantically, "that's the address. Don't tell them that Alfie's here, please, Daddy…"

Her father shook his head softly. "No," he replied, "okay, Scorpius, use the Floo and go to fill in James, Rose and Hugo, okay? Al, you stay here and keep an eye on your mother and your sister. I'll go and get Uncle Ron."

Lily swallowed the _I don't need someone to keep an eye on me_ in favour of going back to kneel next to Alfie and brushing his dark hair away from his face.

"Be careful," she heard her mother saying to her father, and she was just in time to see her kissing him gently before she looked at Scorpius.

He looked back at her with eyes wide, as if he was crestfallen for not having believed her, she felt a pang of guilt for having screamed at him. She looked at him and finally went to him, standing on tiptoes she kissed his cheek. "Be careful," she whispered, just like her mother had done.

He nodded and kissed her forehead back, whispering a hasty, "I'm sorry," before going to the fireplace and disappearing amongst green flames.

Sparky barked at Lily and tried to jump to her legs. "Shh, Sparky," she cooed, grabbing him. "We have to let Alfie sleep…"

"Shall I send Hermione?" asked her father. "Just to keep you company."

"It's okay," replied her mother, shaking her head. "Go, now."

He nodded and, amongst green flames, he was gone too.

oooOOOooo

70 Bishop's Rd, Cambridge CB2 9NQ, UK was a small cottage with bricked walls and a garden full of flowers. On that cold February night, the windows were all dark and the heavy curtains drawn tightly not to let strangers peer inside.

"Nice place," commented Ron, looking around himself. "It reminds me a little of Teddy and Vicky's cottage."

Harry nodded. "It does, doesn't it?" he murmured. He turned to look at the four younger Aurors at their backs, his son, his niece, his nephew and his soon-to-be son-in-law. "Wands at the ready," he reminded them uselessly, since all of them were already holding theirs. They all nodded back at him though.

Ron glanced at Harry and nodded. "Let's go," he said. He walked in front of him and climbed up the three steps that brought to the entrance. When he knocked on the wooden door his movements were firm.

They waited in silence for a reply, but it never came.

Ron knocked again, adding an, "Aurors, open up!" to his gesture, but still there was no reply.

"Can we go in?" asked Hugo softly.

"Under normal circumstances, not without a Ministry warrant," pointed out Ron.

"But these aren't normal circumstances," replied James.

"No," assured Harry, as he pointed his wand at the door and muttered, "_Alohomora_."

The door opened with a sinister creaking sound, and Harry was pretty sure that the people around him were all holding their breath, for he could almost hear the wind caressing the plants in the garden.

"_Lumos_," he and Ron said at the same time. They stepped forward and walked inside. The house was small and rather messy. The floor was covered in footprints and clothes and books lay all over the place, as if someone had hastily packed their stuff.

"Let's split up," said Harry, turning to look at the youngsters at his back, "Scorpius, Rose, you come with me, Hugo and James you go with Ron, alright?"

They all nodded and shuffled to line tidily behind the two Aurors. They looked ready to hex some evil wizards, and Harry just hoped that they didn't do anything reckless.

Ron, James and Hugo climbed up the stairs to the first floor, their steps creaking on the battered wood of the stairs. Harry led Rose and Scorpius into what seemed to be a living room.

"There's nobody here," murmured Scorpius. "They've already left."

Harry nodded. "Look for clues for where they might have gone," he told them, "look for an address, for a note, a picture, anything…"

They replied in the affirmative and started to look about the living room. Moving empty photo frames, opening books and notebooks, looking for traces and clues, just like Harry had suggested.

"Uncle Harry," whispered Rose suddenly.

"What, Rose?"

"What do you think it means that they wanted to use the child?" she asked, her voice a mere whisper of undisguised disgust. "Does that mean… like…"

He knew what she wanted to say, he didn't want her to say it though. It still hurt, no matter how well Lily had recovered, no matter how normal she looked now. "I don't know," he replied quietly, "I hope not."

"Hey," called Scorpius, "I found something."

Harry and Rose hurried at his side. "What? A name? An address?" asked Harry urgently. Anything to find this man who might be abusing his son the way Nott had abused Lily.

He shook his head. "A book," he replied, "a book about legendary plants."

Harry took a deep breath and cocked an eyebrow at Scorpius. "You are too invested in that Toots case," he told him quietly, "it's just a book, Scorpius, we need to find an address, or something that brings us to them."

"Yes, Sir, but Charlie said that Toots was working on legendary plants, and maybe there's something in here—"

Harry waved a hand impatiently at him. "Grab the book and bring it to the Ministry as a clue and then you can study it," he said, "but we're not looking for Toots now."

Scorpius nodded and grabbed the book without replying.

"Shall we turn on the lights, Uncle?" asked Rose, her voice slightly more relaxed than before since now it was pretty clear that they were there alone.

He nodded and once the lamps flickered with fire, they lowered their wands. But there was nothing there, or better nothing that could lead them anywhere at all. Just a mess, a total mess and dirt on the floor.

And the only thing they brought back to the Ministry that evening was the book.

oooOOOooo

Albus stared as Lily scooped up Alfie in her arms, cradling him gently, and she started to climb up the stairs to the first floor. It was the middle of the night and no Auror had come back from their little expedition. His mother was in the kitchen sorting out the contents of the child's bag, and Lily was more than determined to take the child to her bedroom and lie down with him. She wanted to be there with him when he woke up, because surely he would be scared out of his wits to find himself in a foreign place away from his mother. She had already told Albus that she didn't want to go to work the upcoming day nor afterwards, until she was sure that Alfie would have been all right without her at Grimmauld Place. Sparky followed her up the stairs his little tail wagging in anticipation to jump on her bed next to her.

"Poor child," he sighed loud enough for his mother to hear him in the kitchen.

His mother hummed her assent. Poor child indeed.

"Lily's good… with children, I mean… she's good. I know it's her job, but I've never seen her interact with anybody except for Remus, or maybe I didn't really pay attention, like at the Ministry the other day… but… she's good…" he said. Well, she was definitely better than himself. He was scared to hold any child in his arms afraid as he was to let them fall.

"Kreacher is insolent," snapped Taffy suddenly. "Taffy can just snap her fingers and make the dirt disappear. Taffy knows what is needed when there are children. Taffy took care of Miss Lily when she was just a child."

"Kreacher took care of all Mistress' children when they were babies," growled Kreacher. "Kreacher knows that everything needs to be sterilised. Simple house-elf magic isn't enough. Especially Taffy's magic."

Albus' mother appeared on the kitchen door. "Al, be a dear and go shush those two," she told him irritably, "they might know everything about cleaning, but they evidently don't remember that they have to keep it down when there's a child sleeping in the house."

Albus looked for the two house-elves in the hall, since their high-pitched voices were coming from the main door. And surely enough, there they were! Arguing on what better way to clean the floor from Merlin knew what!

"Hum… Mum says to keep it down, guys," he told them, "because the child is sleeping and we wouldn't want to wake him up in the middle of the night, you know…"

Taffy beamed at him. "Master Albus is right," whispered the elf, "Taffy will keep it down. Taffy will clean and keep it down."

"Taffy doesn't know anything," grunted Kreacher, "Taffy can't use her magic with this sticky stuff, Master Albus. Tell Taffy to clean the proper way."

"I… hum… okay, sure—what's the sticky stuff anyway?"

"Taffy doesn't know," replied Taffy, "and neither does Kreacher. Taffy and Kreacher just found it here." She pointed towards the floor in front of the main door and Albus finally saw it.

It was dark violet and rather sticky, and there were imprints in the shape of a sole. Albus furrowed his brow. "Don't… don't clean it," he told the elves. "Bring me a piece of paper or something, instead."

That looked every bit similar to what was in Toots' garden. Of course, many wizards had Dirigible Plums in their gardens and Albus was sure that they made quite the mess.

"Here, Master Albus," squealed Taffy, handing him a napkin. "Shall Taffy pick it up, Master? Shall she do it?"

"Nah, it's okay, Taffy," he replied distractedly, "go and see if my mother needs help in the kitchen, maybe."

She squealed happily and ran to the kitchen. Kreacher followed her slowly.

Well, if that thing didn't come from Toots' garden, at least Albus could have had it analysed at the Ministry. At least they could have known where Alfie's mother had been right before she had arrived at their house.

oooOOOooo

Lily was lying on the bed with Alfie in her arms. Sparky was rolled up near her feet and the teddy bear was tickling her neck as she sang a lullaby – the same lullaby that her mother used to sing to her when she still was at the hospital after Scorpius and Albus and James and Uncle Ron and her father had set her free from the brothel.

She felt as if in a way they had set Alfie free too. Well, his mother had done that, but at least he was safe now. Safe and sound in Lily's arms.

The door to her room opened slightly and her mother and Scorpius slid in, silent as two Kneazles and with eyes as wide as owls. She stopped humming the lullaby and looked at them, Scorpius made a come-hither gesture and nodded towards the door.

She hugged Alfie more tightly to her chest and shook her head. Whatever it was, it could wait.

"Lily, go talk to Scorpius, dear," murmured her mother as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll stay here with Alfie, darling. Go."

Lily was reluctant when she stood up from the bed, her arms sliding slowly from around Alfie. She turned just in time to see her mother lying down at her place and stroking the child's hair. Sparky jumped down from the bed and followed her outside.

"Did you find anything?" she murmured as she closed the door of her bedroom at her back.

Scorpius looked at her with big grey eyes as if he had expected her to kiss him and hug him and tell him that she was glad that he was back safe and sound from the mission. She was all those things, but she just didn't feel like telling him yet.

He shook his head. "The house was empty and a mess. They had already left by the time we arrived, there was dirt all over the floor and… no clue as to where they could have gone. All I got was a book that I took—"

"You stole a book?" she asked scandalised.

He shook his head frantically. "No, no, it was a clue, it was about mythical plants, just what Toots was studying and… I don't even know…"

She nodded and rubbed her hands on her upper arms. She was cold and tired, and all she wanted was to go back to bed and fall asleep with Alfie in her arms and Sparky on her feet.

"Lily," he murmured, "I'm sorry about earlier… and I'm sorry I underestimated the danger with that man… I… I know what it means for you that Alfie is safe, and if I could go back I would listen to you and arrest that man right in front of you at the school and I'm sorry I—"

Lily's lips crashing against Scorpius' were what cut him off mid-sentence. She forgave him. Honestly, she would remember his mistakes for all her life, but she couldn't stay mad at him for more than a few minutes. The few hours that had passed since Alfie had been delivered to her house where she had boiled with rage towards him were an exception.

Scorpius pushed her against the wall at her back and slid his hands on the small of her back, pulling her to him. Her arms went to his neck, her fingers treading his hair. She pushed herself flat against his chest with all her forces.

"I'm sorry," he tried to continue, between a kiss and another, "I'm sorry, I should have never…"

"Shh," she whispered against his lips, "I'm just happy that you believe me now…"

"You're always right," he murmured, "always…"

She giggled and hugged him more tightly, her lips leaving his to kiss their way to his ear and then down to his neck, enticing a groan from him. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he replied with a moan.

"Auror Malfoy," said Lily's father from down the hall, "have you filled in my daughter about what we found at the house?"

Scorpius tried to step back from her, but Lily just giggled softly and hugged him even more tightly. Honestly, she knew that Scorpius didn't like to be found in that position by her father, but right at that moment all she wanted was for him to be pressed against her and kiss her a bit longer.

"All done, Sir," replied Scorpius, giving in and finally hugging her back once again. "I… shall I go now, Sir?" his voice was uncertain, as if he didn't want to go, but at the same time he didn't want to stay if her father didn't want to.

"I want you to go to the school tomorrow morning, Scorpius," he told him, "before the lessons start and tell Miss Mitzy what happened tonight and that Lily won't be able to go to work for a few days, okay?"

He nodded, his chin brushing against Lily's hair.

"Are you staying tonight?" she asked him softly.

He shook his head. "Better if I let you sleep with Alfie," he told her, "I wouldn't want him to wake up and not find you there or worse find me right next to him…"

She kissed him again, in front of her father, it didn't matter. "How is that worse?" she giggled.

"Well, we wouldn't want to scare him first thing in the morning."

She sighed. He was right. She kissed him again. "Are you coming here tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Yes," he replied, kissing her back.

"Albus wanted to talk to you, Scorpius," said her father, "he is downstairs."

"Thank you, Sir," he replied, disentangling himself from Lily. "Sleep tight," he whispered to her.

"You too," she replied, kissing him one more time, before staring at him as he walked past her father and down the stairs.

"Good night, Lily," said her father as a smile tugged his lips.

"Night, Dad," she replied, before walking back into her room and trading places once again with her mother.

oooOOOooo

"What is it, Al?" asked Scorpius flatly. "I'm tired, I didn't get to ask Lily to marry me, she rightly got mad at me and is now sleeping with a child, while I have to go back to the Manor." He looked at his Auror partner and sighed. "Make it quick."

Albus seemed oblivious to his river of words as he straightened his back and handed him a napkin. "Look at this," he said seriously.

Scorpius took the piece of paper in his hands. There was some dark violet gooey stuff on that thing, and it was not a nice sight. "What the hell is this?" he asked softly.

"Let it go."

Scorpius glanced at him, but the dark-haired man looked particularly serious and he decided that it was better to just let the napkin go in midair. To his surprise, instead of falling to the floor, the napkin started to fluctuate gently about the room.

"Dirigible Plum," said Albus matter-of-factly. "And dirt."

"Where did you get it?"

"The floor," replied Albus, "the floor in front of the door, where Alfie's mother was standing probably. It's a clue, isn't it?"

Scorpius shrugged his shoulder. "Well, I don't know Al. It was kind of dark in the garden, so… I mean I don't know, maybe they had some Dirigible Plum in the garden, that wouldn't be much of a clue, would it? I mean if it came from the house."

Albus' lips parted in surprise. Evidently, he hadn't thought about that. "Right," he said quietly. "We need to go back there tomorrow morning, to check if they do have a Dirigible Plum in the garden."

Scorpius nodded. "Yes," he replied, "first thing first, though, I have to go to Miss Mitzy's and tell them about Alfie and about the fact that Lily won't be able to go to work for a few days… But then we should go back to the cottage."

"Great," replied Albus, yawning and standing up from the couch. "I'm off to bed."

"Aren't you going back to your flat?"

"Nope," he replied, stretching his arms over his head. "I'm staying here for tonight. Just in case…"

Scorpius nodded. "See you tomorrow morning," he told him, before finally going to the fireplace and back to the Manor.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to my faithful reviewers. You make my day. The plot thickens guys, things are starting to happen for real! It's going to be good! :D To hashi: I'm glad you liked my reply. Ah, I can't spoil anything, but I can assure you that I don't like to write things that have already been written... So... you can imagine that the abuse with the little boy is not going to sexual. That's all I can tell you! Also... you want soooo many characters! And I love your enthusiasm! :D Thank you for that, I promise more moments with more characters will come! :D

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Lily smiled her brightest smile when Alfie opened his eyes that morning. She caressed his hair and his face and covered his forehead with kisses.

"Hello darling, hello," she told him gently, "did you sleep well? Are you still tired? Would you like to have some breakfast?"

Alfie blinked at her, before rubbing his sleepy eyes with his fists and yawning in the cutest way in front of her. He finally squeezed the teddy bear to his chest himself and looked at her through his thick eyelashes.

"Breakfast," he told her quietly.

Lily beamed at him. "Of course, Alfie," she told him, "why don't we go and wash our faces, and then we go downstairs and my mummy will make us breakfast?"

He nodded and yawned again and Lily stood up and went to the bathroom to run the water at the right temperature. Once she came back, Sparky was sniffing the child and licking his nose. Alfie giggled and Lily felt as if that was one of the most beautiful sounds on earth.

She knelt on the bed to pick up the boy and brought him to the bathroom where the water was already turning lukewarm. She Conjured a stool out of thin air and put Alfie on it. "Let's wash our faces first," she told him, wetting her hand, "and wipe out all traces of sleep! Especially from the eyes—yes, close them. Good job, Alfie. We need to see what we're going to have for breakfast, right? What would you like? Milk and cereals? Or would you like jam on toast? Tea maybe? Oh we've everything you want, don't worry!"

He was silent as Lily helped him brush away the remnants of sleep from his eyelashes. He let her wash him and dry his face without budging, and once she finished she took him in her arms again, along with the teddy bear, and finally headed downstairs.

"Mummy?" he asked shyly as Lily stepped down the last few steps.

She smiled at him, trying hard to look as calm and serene as possible. "Mummy is not here, Alfie," she told him, "she'll come back soon, but for a bit you're here with me, okay?"

She was ready to wipe away tears, to cradle him tightly at her chest, to ask for Sparky and Patches to help her cheer him up, but instead he just nodded meekly and hugged her neck, leaning his small chin on her shoulder. She rubbed her hand on his back and sighed. That would have been Lily's response back when she was at the brothel if someone had told her that Nott had to be away for a while. Just resignation and maybe quiet happiness.

She sighed as she walked into the kitchen. Kreacher and Taffy were busying themselves at the counter, frying bacon that did smell delicious and preparing eggs to be cooked. Her mother was sitting at the table and reading the Daily Prophet.

She looked up and placed the newspaper down as she saw Lily.

"Alfie," said Lily, putting him down on a chair, "this is my mummy. Mummy, this is Alfie."

Her mother smiled warmly at the child. "Hello, Alfie," she said gently, "did you sleep well in Lily's room? Weren't you too cold?"

He shook his head and rubbed one of his eyes, hiding half of his face behind his palm.

"He's shy," beamed Lily. "What would you like for breakfast, Alfie? Maybe a bit of milk and cereals?"

He nodded quietly, and before Lily could even tell them what to do, Taffy and Kreacher were already elbowing each other to bring him some lukewarm milk and all the boxes of cereals they had in the pantry.

"Thank you," said Lily to the elves.

"Thank you," echoed Alfie.

Lily beamed again at him. "Good job, Alfie," she told him, "such a good, polite boy, you are."

She sat next to him and tucked him under the table. "Shall we put your teddy bear on the chair, Alfie? So it doesn't get all dirty."

He shook his head and grasped it more forcefully.

"But what if we spill some milk on it? Then we'll have to wash it…"

"Let him keep it, Lily," said her mother gently, "if it gets dirty we'll wash it, don't worry."

"Taffy will wash it!"

"No, Kreacher washes things at Grimmauld Place."

"You'll both do it," sighed her mother warily. "Now, Lily, what would you like? Bacon and eggs?"

She nodded thoughtfully, not really interested in her own breakfast at the moment. She poured some cereals and then some milk into a bowl and placed it in front of Alfie. "Can you eat alone, Alfie?" she asked gently. "Or shall I do the Quidditch player for you?"

"I," he replied grabbing the spoon.

As Lily had predicted, the first spoonful ended up on the teddy bear, but luckily nobody panicked. And the second was aimed straight to his mouth and he chewed quite happily.

Lily looked at her mother and smiled, her mother smiled back and for a moment Lily wished that Mrs Whittle never came to pick him up again.

oooOOOooo

"What did Miss Mitzy say about Lily and Alfie?" asked Albus as they Apparated in front of the Whittles' cottage in Cambridge.

Scorpius looked around himself before replying, "She was worried, especially for Alfie, and kind of for Lily as well, but mostly because she couldn't go to work." He pushed the little gate open and walked into the garden. "And Teddy turned absolutely nuts when I told him what happened last night. He asked why he hadn't been informed and screamed so much I had to drag him to the Apparition point and back to the Ministry before he scared off the children…"

Albus nodded as he walked into the garden and looked around himself. "Hmm," he hummed, "bad news… or maybe very good news. There's no Dirigible Plum tree here."

"There're are so many other plants, though," pointed out Scorpius, "that it looks like one of Professor Longbottom's greenhouses."

It was true. The whole garden was covered in plants and flowers, some of them – despite being February – were already flowering. Surely magic was involved there. Grandma Molly had the same spell on the roses and the lilies in her garden, until Uncle Ron had almost fined her for breaking the law of revealing magic to Muggles – even though there were no Muggles anywhere near the Burrow.

"Can we go inside?" asked Albus. "You did go inside last night, didn't you?"

Scorpius nodded. "There was just a big mess and…" His voice trailed away as he stared in front of himself as if he'd just understood something illuminating. "…and dirt on the floor…" he whispered.

"Sounds a bit like Fred's and Louis' flat," chuckled Albus.

"We need to get in there," said Scorpius firmly. "I couldn't see it very well last night, but… that dirt on the floor, it might have been… violet… and sticky, yes it was sticky…"

"Right," said Albus, "let's get in." He hurried to the door and pushed it open. It was probably unlocked from the night before, when surely they had used a spell to get in. And the inside was just as Scorpius had described it. Messy and dirty.

"_Lumos_," he said, pointing the tip of his wand to the filthy floor. "Well, this is kind of dark and not very sticky, Scorpius," pointed out Albus, "looks more like dirt than pieces of Dirigible Plum…"

"Look up," said Scorpius softly.

Albus raised his eyes and his wand and stared. On the ceiling, there was a line of little pieces of gooey and dark violet stuff.

"Dirigible Plum," he told him, "remember? It flies."

Albus kept his wand above his head as they walked into the dark house and Scorpius closed the door at their back.

"We need to go back to talk to Toots' wife," said Scorpius urgently. "I mean, if they have been in their garden… and they have the book, I told you about the book right? The book about legendary plants, and Charlie said that he was studying legendary plants and if they got in there and stole it and killed him and—"

"Hmm," said Albus, plummeting on a couch in the Whittles' living room, "someone is finally getting excited about the case…"

Scorpius glared at him. "Not excited," he snapped, "nervous. This man might have killed a person and Lily and your mother are with his son. Do you think he will stop in front of something to have his child back?"

Albus' eyes widened in comprehension. "You're right," he told him, "mark the calendar because you are right…"

"I'm always right," pointed out Scorpius sharply.

Albus huffed slightly, but didn't reply to him. Instead he started shuffling through the books and magazines that the Whittles had on their coffee table for more clues. _Quidditch Through the Ages_, well that was a classic; _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_, it was usually a must with little children around; _Toots, Shoots 'n' Roots, a Collection of Scripts from the WWN Program_, interesting… and finally _My Life as a Muggle_ by Daisy Hookum, who was now known as Daisy Toots, after her marriage to Mr Toots.

"Hey," said Albus, "they have two quite interesting tomes." He raised the last two and showed them to Scorpius.

He darkened slightly. "Grab them," he told him, "we need to go back to the Ministry and have a look at the other book."

"We can't bring these to the Ministry, though," pointed out Albus, "once again we didn't have a warrant to come in here."

Scorpius nodded. "I'll go to the Ministry and start looking at the book," he told him, "and you go to your house and bring those books there. We need to see if maybe there're some traces, some kind of dedication, if Toots knew them or something…"

Without thinking twice about Scorpius' words, Albus stood from the couch and nodded quickly. "Let's go," he told him, he suddenly felt rather excited at the thought that they finally had a trail to follow for the case.

oooOOOooo

Ginny looked at Lily and Alfie from the couch and her heart skipped a beat. They looked very much like mother and son. Too much for her not to feel her guts twist in happiness. Alfie was sitting on Lily's lap on the floor and she was reading to him a tale that had him almost sleeping. His little, plump hands were touching the pages of the books every now and then, but he kept yawning and leaning his head against Lily's shoulder.

She turned her head to kiss his forehead and caught Ginny's eye. She smiled at her and Ginny smiled back.

"You're good, Lily," murmured Ginny, as her daughter brought Alfie to the couch and lay him down to rest. "You're very good. You're going to be a wonderful mother one day," she added in a whisper.

Lily beamed at her. "You really think so, Mum?" she asked softly. "I want a lot of children, I want more than Grandma Molly."

"I know," she replied, "you want enough children to have your own private Quidditch team. I'm sure Scorpius will be thrilled."

Lily went to her mother and sat next to her. "I'll take care of them all, I don't need Scorpius to look after them," she let her know seriously, "I just need him to kiss their forehead before their off to bed."

"Oh Lily," she giggled, "I'm sure he'll want to do much more than that."

Lily cocked her head as she looked at the child on the couch. "I was thinking… maybe… maybe if Mrs Whittle doesn't come back to retrieve Alfie… maybe I could adopt him, couldn't I?" she asked softly.

Ginny raised both eyebrows at her. That was sudden and unexpected, or maybe just not that unexpected, but surely sudden. "Well, Lily, it's still early, okay? Don't think about that, he's only been here for a little less than a day, I'm sure that if Mrs Whittle doesn't come to pick him up he will definitely have family somewhere…"

"But if he doesn't… I mean… or even if he does, what if… what if his family is just like his father? What if they all want to use him?" she whispered. "What if they want to _abuse_ him?"

Ginny brought a hand to her mouth. "Darling, all I know is that your father won't let anything bad happen to him," she whispered back, hugging her tightly. "I promise. We'll figure out something."

She nodded and leaned her head against Ginny's shoulder. "I love you, Mum," she whispered, "I'm glad Scorpius found me and I got to know you and Dad all over again."

"I'm glad too, Lily," choked Ginny. "I'm glad too…"

oooOOOooo

"Rose, I need that book, now," snapped Scorpius. "I need it. Go and get it, now."

Rose shook her head vehemently. "I'm sorry, Scorpius," she told him for the umpteenth time, "but Uncle Harry said that it was a clue that needed to end up in the Archive, and that's exactly where we put it. To have a look at it, you need to get a permit from the Head Auror or his Deputy."

"They are your father and your uncle," Scorpius gritted through his teeth, "and I need that book now!"

"Listen, that book was taken from a house where we had no warrant to entry," she reminded him, "I had to put it into the Archive before someone noticed. You basically stole it, Scorpius."

"Listen, that book was probably taken from Toots' house," he snapped, "now I need it to check if it actually was or not. So, be a dear and go and get that book for me."

"How do you know it was taken from Toots' house?"

"I have my reasons to suspect that," he replied sourly. "Al and I are investigating, remember? We've discovered something. Now go and get that book for me before I _Accio_ it here."

"Why are you two always fighting over something?" sighed James as he walked to them with a pile of folders in his arms. "Always. Always. _Always_."

"Because she's being totally unreasonable, as always," snapped Scorpius. "James, I need that book we retrieved from the Whittles' cottage, can you go and get it for me?"

"You need a permit!" snapped Rose.

"I'm afraid she's right," pointed out James, before looking around himself and adding, "On the other hand, I solemnly swear that nobody here will tell on you if you want to consult the book in the Archive…"

"James!" Rose glared at him.

"Oh come on," he cooed her, "he's investigating…"

Rose threw her hands up near her face and shook her head. "If someone comes to check something, you disappear into the loo or under a table, okay?" she told Scorpius, poking his chest with a tiny finger.

"Deal," he growled, walking past her and following James into the Archive. "I don't know how you can work with her, James, she's a pain."

James chuckled softly. "She's just extremely dutiful," he replied, "and incorruptible…"

"Except when you manage to get her drunk during working hours," muttered Scorpius.

"Except for that," agreed James, flushing slightly. He guided him amongst tall shelves and narrow corridors. The Archive was gigantic and Scorpius had no clue how James could orient himself through all those passages and amongst all those folders, but he did. The blond Auror suspected that a certain red-haired young lady had made him study the whole layout of the place not to get lost.

Well, at least, it was useful.

"Here," said James finally, "you can sit here and Summon the book. You have an hour, Scorpius."

"Thank you, James," he replied, sitting heavily on the chair and drawing out his wand. "_Accio Book that… hem… that I took from the house last night…_" He looked at James and shrugged a shoulder. "I don't remember the title."

James looked at him and shook his head, but it didn't matter because a tome came zooming out of some shelf and landed onto the table with a thud. "Here you go," said James. "I'll be back to my exciting job of cataloguing and tidying the Archive with Rose."

Scorpius nodded distractedly. The book was big and dusty and it looked rather ancient too. It was called _Legendary Plants and Flowers of Europe_, and he could have guessed that when he had Summoned it. Oh, it didn't matter, it was there now and he was wasting time.

He opened it and on the first page there wasn't the writing _This book belongs to…_ or anything like that. There were, though, some little annotations in faded ink. Someone who knew about plants and flowers had written short comments such as, 'Snow White Lilies are the common Lilies of the Valley' or 'The Toothy Rose has been proven to exist by Pomona'.

Scorpius narrowed his eyes. Pomona. Pomona Sprout. Toots, or whoever this book had belonged to, knew Professor Sprout. Interesting…

He started to turn page after page, reading the names of the plants and flowers at the top. Blue bittercress nuts (which were gathered at midday), Bog angelica flowers (which were usually gathered on Sunday), Death tongue, Eagle's heliotrope, Elvish hawkweed berries (which could be found only in spring), Fairy grass wood (which was usually gathered on Tuesday) and… and then there was the not-so-subtle stubble of a page that had been torn from the book and then a long chapter dedicated to the Green wormtongue.

"Bloody hell," muttered Scorpius as he tried to go back and forward, expecting something to happen that he himself had no idea what that was. That book was in alphabetical order and between Fairy and Green there could have been… Golden. _Golden Orchid_. Bloody hell. Well, of course it could have been anything… from… Fishbyrishky Booboo to Glaryglary Herb (it was a book about legendary plants after all, surely those names could have existed), but Charlie had talked about a Golden Orchid, he had said that it was a legendary plant, and Luna and Rolf had said that Toots was working on orchids, and there was a page missing where the name Golden Orchid might have fit perfectly well. Of course… unless they wrote _Orchid, Golden_ right under 'O'.

He turned the pages quickly, uncaring of the ripping sounds that came from the thin paper every now and then. There were so many flowers and plants and herbs that one could have spent all their life studying them.

Mountain pokeweed, Narrowleaf toadshade, Owl's grass, Purple feverfew stems (which was gathered on Monday), Red nightshade… no! He had to go back, he had missed it. But no, he hadn't. There was no orchid there. Not under 'G' nor under 'O'.

He closed the book. Damn! Someone had found something. Someone had found something about a plant which had some kind of powers. And that plant must have been something powerful, otherwise why would they go to such great lengths for a stupid orchid?

oooOOOooo

Harry walked through the fireplace and stopped in his tracks.

His house was utterly silent, which was quite unexpected and worrying. Ginny was usually writing and reading her articles out loud to herself to see if they flew well at that time of the afternoon, but at that moment, she evidently wasn't. Harry he had imagined that now that Lily was home with Alfie, they would have spent some time together, talking, laughing and making the child play.

But not a sound could be heard in the whole Grimmauld Place.

"Ah! Master is home!" squealed Taffy, appearing in front of him. "Master is early. Taffy prepares Master a sandwich? Taffy takes Master's coat? Taffy brews some tea for Master?"

Well, probably Grimmauld Place was not as silent as Harry thought. He smiled at the elf. "That won't be necessary, Taffy," he told her gently, "I'm only here to quickly check on Lily, Ginny and Alfie. Are they… are they sleeping?"

Taffy shook her head vigorously. "Miss Lily and Mistress and Young Master Alfie are in the garden," replied the elf, "with the Crups."

"Oh," was all Harry could say, "isn't it too cold to be out in the garden?"

"Miss Lily cast a Warming Charm on Young Master Alfie," replied Taffy, "and Mistress cast one on Miss Lily when Miss Lily wasn't looking."

Harry couldn't suppress a small chuckle. "Thank you, Taffy," he replied, "I'll go and say hi before I go back to the Ministry."

The elf nodded again and trotted in front of his feet to open the main door for him. The moment Harry stepped into the cold February air, his ears were filled with the laughter and giggles that he had thought he would have encountered in the house.

Lily was running behind Alfie, who was giggling out loud and screaming every now and then, running away from her and all excited by the fact that he had not been caught yet. Lily was giggling too, visibly refraining herself from grabbing him and pulling him in a big hug.

Sparky and Patches were running and barking happily behind Lily, and Ginny was encouraging Alfie to run away from her daughter.

Harry folded his arms across his chest and smiled at the scene. They looked a lot like a three-generation-family having fun in the garden, and surely that was what the Muggles that walked past their garden must have thought.

"Dad!" cried Lily suddenly.

He looked at her and nodded and smiled. Walking down the steps in their direction, he stopped next to Ginny and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she stood on tiptoes to kiss him. "Everything's good?" he asked softly

"Perfect," replied Ginny, "we were playing a bit… just to work up an appetite before we have a snack."

Lily reached them with Alfie finally in her arms, the Crups running around her ankles. "Dad," she grinned, "what are you doing here in the middle of the afternoon?" She didn't wait for his answer as she turned towards Alfie. "Alfie, this is my Daddy, do you want to say to him? No? Not even wave your hand? Aww, good boy!"

The child waved a little at Harry before smiling and turning away to hug Lily's neck.

"He's shy," she explained gently.

"Hello, Alfie," said Harry, "are you having fun?"

The boy nodded a little bit, before pushing his hand into Lily's hair and starting to play with it.

"Any problems?" asked Harry softly.

"No," replied Ginny, "he's an exceptionally quiet boy, and he only asked for his mother once. He slept all night, ate breakfast and lunch, napped a little, played… did all the things that healthy boys do."

Harry nodded. "Good."

"What about you? Have you found his mother? Have you found anything?"

He shook his head. "I sent a couple of Aurors to interrogate the neighbours of the Whittles, but it's a Muggle suburb, and all they could tell us was that Alfie's parents led a very private life, they never saw them, they never heard anything, they never talked to them." He sighed. "But that's pretty much what happens with all Wizarding families who live in a Muggle suburb."

"And Albus and Scorpius?"

Harry looked as Lily placed Alfie down again and he started to run away and ask for her to go and get him. She smiled and went after him, the Crups in turn going after her.

"Albus and Scorpius went back to the house as well," he told her, "without my authorisation, and brought two books home. Not even the Ministry, home, here… Didn't you see him?"

She shook her head. "We must have been out here."

"Then Scorpius proceeded to check out the book we got last night and now they are going to the Toots' residence to talk to Toots' widow once again. Don't ask me about what because they wouldn't tell me."

Ginny furrowed her brow. "Aren't you their boss?"

"Apparently, that doesn't really work when you're also the father of one of the two boys," he pointed out. "I should head back, now. Are you sure you're alright here alone with Lily and Alfie? Shall I send an Auror over? Maybe Rose? Or Hugo?"

She shook her head. "It's alright," she replied quietly, "but you have to find the mother, Harry. Lily… she's already asked about adopting Alfie… she is really scared that his family might just be like… like… like what she thought was her family…"

"I know," he whispered.

"Remember? She called Goyle Uncle Gregory," she murmured, her voice a bit choked.

Harry hugged her tightly. "I know," he replied, "we'll see to the child. Make sure that he's alright."

"Thank you."

"I'll see you later," he whispered, kissing her head. "Bye Lily, bye Alfie."

Lily stopped to wave at him before running once again after Alfie, her hands arched near her face to pretend she was a monster.

Harry smiled and walked back to the house, wanting nothing else than to keep that child safe.

oooOOOooo

Mrs Toots looked rather surprised to find Albus and Scorpius at her door for the second time in less than a fortnight. Probably it was because no other person had ever believed her when she had talked about her husband being murdered instead of poisoning himself by mistake.

"We might have a trail," said Albus urgently as she moved to let them in, "we found a book about legendary plants…"

"…a book that might have been your husband's. Are you sure you don't know anything about his work? Do you know if he was studying orchids, maybe?" urged Scorpius.

The woman gestured for them to sit on the couch and finally turned to look at them. Eyes wide and lips parted in surprise. "You found his book?" she asked in disbelief. "I told you I wasn't crazy, didn't I?"

"You did," muttered Scorpius with a tone of voice that let them all know that he hadn't believed her at all when he had told her.

"How did you find that book?" she asked again, her face pale. Probably she hadn't believed herself as well at that time.

"It was at someone's house," Albus told her, "we can't disclose this information at the moment, but we took it with us. Now, there is a page missing from the book, though, a page that very probably it was about the Golden Orchid." He looked at her and took a deep breath. "What can you tell us about that?"

"A page is missing?" she asked. "Oh my, oh my! That was a very important book!"

Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "I thought you said you didn't know what book had been taken," he pointed out.

"All of our books are important," she continued, waving a hand, "I'm a writer, remember? Books are like children to me."

Albus and Scorpius exchanged a glance. Well, she was crazy all right. "What can you tell us about the Golden Orchid?" asked Albus.

The woman shook her head, disconsolate. "Nothing, I told you," she whined, "my poor husband… he… he didn't… he didn't share his research with anybody until he found something."

"He must have shared it with someone," pointed out Scorpius sharply, "otherwise he wouldn't be dead now."

"Well, he wouldn't share it with me then," grunted the woman, "after all, I was just a writer, he was the gardener. I really didn't know what he was talking about half of the time."

"Do you know Luna and Rolf Scamander? Or Pomona Sprout? Have they ever been here?" asked Albus. "Because they seemed to have had contacts with your husband. Has he ever talked about them?"

She shook her head. "I know them indirectly," she told them. "Rolf Scamander is the grandson of Newton Scamander, and Pomona Sprout, well, she taught at Hogwarts. She was well known."

"And do you know the Whittles?" asked Scorpius.

The woman seemed to think hard at the name for a moment. "I've never heard of them," she finally replied. "Why?"

"Because your husband's book was at their house," Albus informed her. So much for not disclosing information. But what would that woman do? And the Whittles were nowhere to be found anyway.

Mrs Toots brought a hand to her mouth. "Was it?" she asked softly. "Oh my, I have no idea who you're talking about. Maybe… maybe they came here to buy some flowers… so many people do… I lose count at times…"

Scorpius and Albus glanced at each other again. "Okay," Albus finally said, "okay. Mrs Toots, you can't leave the country. We might need to ask you more things in the upcoming days."

She nodded. "Oh my, I didn't even offer you a cup of tea," she whined, "not even a cup of tea, darlings… would you like a cup of tea?"

"I'm afraid we have to go, Mrs Toots," said Scorpius, standing up. "We'll keep in touch if anything else happens."

She nodded again, her reddish locks bobbing around her face. "Yes, please," she told them.

She accompanied them to the door and stared as they walked into her garden, unlike the first time, her eyes followed them until they passed by the Dirigible Plum and finally stepped out of the garden.

"Didn't she look weird?" asked Albus.

"You mean weirder?" Scorpius asked back. "I don't know… she was quite loony already…"

"All of them seem to be… the Herbologists/Magizoologists, I mean…"

Scorpius nodded. "They do," he agreed. "Nuts… they are just nuts…"

oooOOOooo

"No."

"Hugo…"

"No."

"I'm not talking to you as your father, I'm talking to you as your boss."

Hugo closed his eyes and groaned out loud. "No, no, no," he repeated. "Listen _boss_, I have a job, I honestly do. Emeric and I are investigating on the killing in Diagon Alley, we are that close, I swear…"

"Teddy will pair someone else with Emeric," pointed out his father calmly.

Hugo rolled his eyes. "No, please, Dad… I'm not… I'm not good with children…"

"It's Remus, Hugo," replied his father. "And Teddy and Victoire are just not feeling too comfortable to send him to school after what had happened with Alfie. They think Alfie's father might be coming to look for him at the school. He wouldn't want any accident, they're sending a couple of Aurors to keep an eye on the children for the upcoming two weeks."

There was a knock on the door and, before Hugo could even find another excuse to avoid baby-sitting duties, his mother walked into the Deputy Head Auror office.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked as she closed the door at her back. She eyed Hugo and sighed, "What did you do now, Hugo?"

She had the decency to blush a little when he told her, "Nothing! Dad wants to downgrade me to baby-sitter. From Auror to baby-sitter, Mum."

"For Remus," explained his father with a sigh. "And it's not baby-sitting, consider it body-guarding."

"I'm not good with children," he replied sourly, "they always scream and babble and I don't understand what they want and they end up crying and throwing things and I end up using Full Body-Bind Curses on them…"

"Hugo!" exclaimed his mother. "That's not nice…"

"I have a great idea," he told his father, "why doesn't he bring Remus to Grimmauld Place? Lily can take care of him…"

"Lily has her hands full with the other child already," he reminded him, "and apparently Alfie is a very shy little boy, who doesn't like too much company."

"So what? I'm supposed to go and spend my time at Teddy and Vicky's house with a two-year-old because the other two-year-old is a bit of a loner? Socialising is good…"

"I thought you always complained that your family is too big," chuckled his mother.

Hugo glared at her. "Mum, what are you doing here?"

She smiled almost innocently and walked to where his father was sitting. "It's time for my daily snogging session with your father, Hugo," she said calmly.

"Eww," he complained, "I don't want to know."

She shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. "It's lunch time," she told him, "we're going to the canteen. Are you coming?"

"Alright," he conceded. "Since when do you have lunch dates?" he chuckled.

"Since your father is cheating on his diet—"

"That you imposed on me."

"I'm keeping an eye on your health."

Hugo shrugged a shoulder as his father stood up, pecked his mother's cheek lightly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Alright," Hugo sighed, "let's go."

"Vicky expects you tomorrow morning," his father told him, "at eight, don't be late."

He sighed again, but nodded. Auror duties. They were Auror duties, he had to remember that.

oooOOOooo

Lily was ecstatic, her mother and her father looked very surprised and her brothers just seemed plain confused. Instead, she was elated and not surprised in the least.

Scorpius was sitting cross-legged in front of Alfie and he was waving his wand in front of the child and sending colourful sparks and creating his dog-shaped Patronus for him to play with.

And Alfie was entranced by the sparks and the Patronus and the movements of the wand itself. And he just kept laughing and stretching his plump arms in front of him to reach the dog and smiling. His laughter and Scorpius' murmured spells were the only things that could be heard in the whole of Grimmauld Place. The child even stood up and tried to follow the sparks around the living room, until he started to yawn and went straight to Lily to ask to sit in her lap.

She picked him up at once and he leaned his head on her chest. His little pyjamas rode up a little around his ankles and Scorpius stretched a hand to pull it down.

"What are you doing?" asked Albus in a whisper.

Scorpius looked at him and cocked an eyebrow. "He must be cold," he told him. "It's winter."

"No, I mean… what are you doing with the child? How are you so good with children?" he asked again. "You are the only son of an only son, I mean… it's not like you grew up with many children around, how do you know how to… interact?"

Lily could see Scorpius flush at her brother's words and she felt the urge to scold Albus as Alfie's breathing slowed down and he fell asleep. "He is obviously gifted at taking care of children," she pointed out, "some people have a gift. That's what Miss Mitzy says."

"Well, you made him forget about his teddy bear being washed," said her mother gently, "that's a great accomplishment, Scorpius."

"Thank you Mrs Potter," he replied, pushing his hands on the floor and going to sit next to Lily on the couch. He treaded his pale fingers in his hair and smiled fondly at the child.

Lily smiled up at him and felt her heart flutter in her chest when he looked at her. "Maybe we can keep him, right?" she asked him hopefully. "I mean, if nobody comes to reclaim him, we can keep him as ours, right Scorpius?"

His eyebrows knitted together. "I'm sure he has family that loves him somewhere, Lily," he told her gently.

Her hand sneaked up and around his wrist. "But if he doesn't…"

"Lily," said her father gently, "we'll think about it."

"No, but Scorpius and I should adopt him," she replied, shaking her head, "not you and Mum…"

Scorpius bit his bottom lip, he looked at her as if he wasn't exactly convinced about that, but luckily, before he could say anything in protest, there was a pop and Taffy and Kreacher appeared in the middle of the living room, the head of the teddy bear in Taffy's hands and its feet in Kreacher's.

"What's going on?" asked Lily's mother, eyes wide.

"Taffy knows how to wash toys," said the house-elf, tugging at the toy, "Kreacher wouldn't listen to Taffy, Mistress. Taffy needs Master to tell Kreacher to stop putting his long nose into other elves' business."

"Taffy doesn't know anything," grunted Kreacher, "Kreacher washed many toys. Taffy doesn't know what soap to use and what magic." He pulled the toy and Taffy glared at him.

"Taffy knows!" she snapped, pulling the teddy bear a bit more.

"Taffy doesn't know!" replied Kreacher snappishly. "Taffy doesn't know anything!" He tugged again and a ripping sound could be heard coming from the neck of the teddy bear.

"Hey!" said James, standing up and trying to grab the toy. "You're going to wake up the child and break the teddy bear. Let it go!" He tugged as well, but none of the house-elves seemed to acknowledge him as someone to take orders from.

"Let it go," urged Harry, "let it go, all three of you, before you—oh, great!"

There was a loud ripping sound and finally Taffy ended up on her back, her brownish legs up in the air as she clutched the head of the teddy bear in her hands. James just stood there, looking at the disaster, hands on his hips while Kreacher was lying and panting, looking very close to needing mouth to mouth resuscitation. The body of the teddy bear lay at his feet, some stuffing scattered all around the floor.

"Oh bloody fantastic, you two!" snapped her mother. "Look at what you did! Look at the mess you made. And now? I need to find a good sewing spell to put it together before Alfie wakes up! You are the two most troubling house-elves I've ever—"

"What the hell is this?"

"James!" muttered Lily, covering Alfie's ears. "Language."

"Sorry, Lils," he replied distractedly, "but there's something in here." He picked up the teddy bear and pushed his hand into the stuffing, rummaging in the body of the toy.

"James, you're destroying it even more," pointed out her father.

"There's something in here," he repeated stubbornly.

"It's called fluff," told him Albus.

"It's called stuffing," Scorpius corrected him.

"It's called a piece of paper," snapped James as he finally drew out a folded piece of paper.

Her father stood up and walked to James' side. "What is it? A message? From Mrs Whittle?"

James unfolded it and once again Grimmauld Place seemed to be holding its breath. The dark-haired wizard furrowed his brow. "It looks like… a page of some book, an encyclopaedia or something…"

"About what?" asked Albus.

"Flowers," replied his father.

"The Golden Orchid?" asked Albus and Scorpius at the same time.

James' eyes shifted from one man to the other. "How do you know?"

Scorpius and Albus were tearing the paper from James' hands before he could even react, eyes equally wide and matching surprised expressions over their faces. "Bloody hell," muttered Albus.

"Al!" protested Lily, looking at Alfie. "Stop cursing in front of Alfie."

"He's sleeping," replied Albus without even looking at them. "Is it…"

"The missing page from the volume," assured Scorpius. "It's the same kind of paper."

"Why would it be in the teddy bear? What's… _why_?"

"The teddy bear is very important," said Lily softly.

Everybody turned to look at her. "What?" asked Albus.

She shrugged a shoulder. "That's what Mrs Whittle said," she told them. "That the teddy bear was important."

"It's a message," muttered Scorpius. "Of course… they… they found this flower, they found this flower and… that's why Toots died, and probably Professor Sprout. They found the flower and she put the page in here as a message."

"Oh Merlin!" murmured her mother. "What does this flower do that people have to die for it?"

"I'll tell you that," replied Albus, grabbing the piece of paper and sitting down on an armchair. "Shall I read it out loud?"

"Of course," muttered Scorpius, sitting on the armrest next to him and peering over his shoulder.

Albus cleared his throat as James and her father went back to sit down. Taffy, in the meantime, had pushed all the stuffing back into the teddy bear, while Kreacher was still lying on the floor, now fast asleep.

"_The Golden Orchid_," he started reading, "_of the Orchidaceae family, is a legendary flower that is commonly grown in Scotland and Ireland._"

"Scotland!" muttered Scorpius. "That's where Professor Sprout was working!"

Albus nodded before continuing, "_This species of orchid, though similar to the common orchid in shape and texture, is distinguished by its unique colour. The petals and pistil are of a vibrant gold [see picture] and they are often mistakenly confused for real gold. Legend has it that the witch-princess Michaela I found herself left without transport en route her journey to the Highlands. She chanced upon a horde of Mountain Trolls while she had been walking in search for the night's shelter and, despite being a skilled sorceress, Michaela found herself unarmed and defenceless within minutes; her back was to a tree, and her wand was lost amongst the foliage underfoot. However, upon her resignation to her unavoidable fate of being eaten raw at the hands of the Mountain Trolls, the Green Man successfully scared off her attackers by jumping out from behind her tree and thus saved her life. Although Michaela covered his leafy head with affectionate kisses and caresses, the Green Man would not accept any repayments from her. Being of noble origins, though, Michaela had been taught that all acts of gratitude were to be duly repaid... and so it was that, when she'd found her wand, she tapped a common orchid sprouting nearby. It became like gold and enchanted the Green Man, and thus the Golden Orchid was brought into being._"

"Aww," swooned Lily, "that's so sweet."

Albus glanced at her askew. "Yeah," he replied softly, "I guess…"

"Keep going," urged James.

"_However, the flower not only shone under the moon's rays with the colour of the sun. It also held the greatest powers and most fantastic secrets inside its golden petals._"

"What?" asked Scorpius, furrowing his brow.

"Let me go on," replied Albus impatiently. "_It is said that the Golden Orchid can bestow any potion and draught with irrevocable effects, and no Bezoar or antidote could remedy a potion made with any part of the Golden Orchid. A concoction made with its petals and powdered unicorn horn would grant eternal life to the drinker, not unlike the effects of a Philosopher's Stone. The ingestion of its petals is a cure against any charm, regardless of its strength and nature, and a list of the spells that the orchid can nullify can be found at the back of the_—hey! Scorpius!"

Lily stared, holding her breath as her boyfriend grabbed the page and turned it over, his eyes roaming for the list. Did he understand? Was he thinking what she was thinking too?

There was something that shadowed his face. Lily didn't know what it was, but the muscles of his forehead contracted and for a moment something flickered in his irises.

"Scorpius…"

"Memory Charm," he said, his voice thick. "It's right here. _The Memory Charm: the victim must swallow a petal of the Golden Orchid with two drops of Morning Dew, and all their memories will return at once_." He raised his eyes on Lily and gaped at her.

Lily felt her heart race in her chest. A cure to the Memory Charm. Healer Pye had told her that there was no such thing, and she was resigned already to never regain the memories of when she was a child, of her mother and her father and her brothers and her family… She had just had to learn how to love them all over again and… and that what she had done.

But now…

It sounded so easy. A petal and two drops of Morning Dew. And her memories, all her memories… all those times that her mother had told her about her when she was little… all those times… she would know them, then, really know them.

"Lily."

She almost startled as her mother touched her shoulder, she turned and looked at her, eyes wide and lips parted in surprise. "I… I…"

"I'll find it," said Scorpius, looking seriously at her, "I swear to Merlin, I'll find it."

Lily didn't know what to say. Her heart, her poor, little heart, was pounding in her chest. Her hands were clutching at Alfie's shoulders and while her mouth was dry her eyes were now moist with tears.

It was almost a surprise when Scorpius walked to her, cupped her cheeks and kissed her forcefully on her lips. "I'll find it, I swear," he murmured against her lips.

"I…"

"Shh," he murmured. "I know."

Silence followed that statement, everybody was probably looking at them, but Lily didn't mind. All she cared about were Scorpius' warm hands on her chilled skin, his forehead against hers and his eyes on her.

"Keep reading, Al," said her father.

Albus cleared his throat once more. "_The Golden Orchid also provides the following powers to whoever ingests any part of its flower: mind-reading abilities independent of Legilimency, natural flight, invisibility, the ability to cast Wandless spells, and other effects that vary from person to person. The existence of the golden Orchid had never been proven, though there are many unconfirmed sightings of the flower. The members of the Order of Dìthean – a secret society whose existence is as obscure as the existence of the flower itself – are rumoured to be the only keepers of the secret behind the Golden Orchid. To read more about the Order and the legends involving this organization, the reader may consult the appropriate volume of _Secret Orders of Great Britain and Ireland." Albus huffed and looked up. "Which is not included in the teddy bear, apparently."

"I know that book," said Lily, excitedly. "I know it."

"You do?" asked James.

"How do you know it?" asked her mother softly.

"It's at the Manor," she told them, "I didn't read it, but… but I've read all the titles of all the books in library once when I was bored. It's… you have it, Scorpius, in your library." She took a deep breath and added, "Oh, I wish I had read it now!" Yes, she would remember it if she had read it. All of it, and they would know everything about this Order and that Golden Orchid that seemed to promise her the piece of happiness that was missing from her life.

"I had no idea," replied Scorpius truthfully. "They are my father's books." He glanced at Albus and added, "Right, let's go."

"Now?" asked Lily's father. "Scorpius is late and your parents—"

"And the Manor is so big you can't hear a thing from my parents' bedroom to the library, Sir," he replied seriously.

"I want to come too," said Lily urgently, she grasped Alfie and stood up, the child still sleeping in her arms. "I'll put Alfie to bed and I'll come with you."

"Lily, it's late, isn't it better if you go to bed too?" asked her mother gently.

"No," she replied forcefully. "I want to read about the Order of Dìthean. I need to know, Mum. Memory… I… I could get my memory back… Isn't that what you want too, Mum?"

Her mother bit her bottom lip. "It's a legendary flower, Lily," she replied softly, "it means that it doesn't exist."

"But if people are dying," pointed out Scorpius, "for this flower, it might not be as legendary as the book claims…"

Lily's mother gaped from him to Lily, looking lost. "I just… I just don't want you to get your hopes up for something that it's not going to happen…"

"It is going to happen," said Lily with a beam. "Isn't it, Scorpius?"

"I'll make it happen," he replied firmly.

Lily would have run to him and hugged him tightly if she didn't have a child in her arms. She shifted Alfie and smiled. "I'll put him to bed, wait for me, okay?" But before she could turn to go towards the stairs, her mother went to her and took Alfie from her arms. "I'll put him to bed," she said, "you go."

Lily's heart beat like crazy. "Thank you, Mum," she whispered, kissing her cheek.

Then she was finally running towards Scorpius and they both dismissed Albus' gagging noises as they kissed again.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to all of my dear reviewers. You honestly make my day a little brighter. Soooo, we're really entering into the mystery now! There are going to be some chapters with some delightful cliffies... Muhahaha! Hope you'll enjoy them!

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

Scorpius was euphoric.

As they made their way through the Manor, he was having visions of how he would have asked Lily to marry him. Yes, he would have put the ring inside the petals of the Golden Orchid that he would find for her – in his imagination he could even add the fact that he had slain a dragon to get to the flower, and killed an evil hag (just like Viridina's knight) – and she would have said yes, and then she would have ingested the petal and the Morning Dew and she would have gained her memory again.

And their life would have been perfect. Just plain perfect. Just what Lily deserved, and what Scorpius wanted.

And now, he knew he was squeezing her hand too tightly as they walked through the Manor with Albus right behind him, but she didn't complain and he didn't want to let her go.

She was giggling too, she was euphoric as well, probably. All they knew was that things were going to go from good to even better. Perfection, that was what their life would have been, _perfection_.

"Where the heck is your library, Scorpius? In another country?" asked Albus at his back.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. Well, almost perfection… there were still Lily's annoying brother to deal with, and on a daily basis. "Lower your voice," he shushed him, "my parents are sleeping."

"I can't wait," exclaimed Lily. "I can't wait to read everything about this Order, it sounds so exciting! I know you are used to exciting things, but I'm not, and I can't wait to know everything they do! I think… if my mum can take care of Alfie for tonight we should go and look for them right now. I mean, we should go before Alfie's father, right? We need to get there and—oh…"

Scorpius had wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, kissing her to shut her up, and to whisper in her ear, "One step at a time." He had been wrong, she was even more euphoric than he was. Of course, he couldn't even imagine what it meant for her to have the promise of having something that she had given up having for ages now.

He pushed the door of the library open and Lily hurried inside. She went straight to the opposite wall and pushed the moving ladder towards a certain shelf. She climbed up and stretched her hand securely towards a tome. She pulled at it, but it was huge and Scorpius rushed to help her. He took the book in his hands and blew away the thick layer of dust.

Lily jumped down the last few steps and beamed as she grabbed Scorpius' arm and dragged him back towards the settees they had in a corner. She pushed him down and sat in his lap, eagerly taking the book in her hands and placing it on her thighs.

"Well, someone is excited," chuckled Scorpius.

"Shall I read it?" she replied, starting to turn the pages. "I mean, if I read it I'll remember it forever, right? I will even if I listen to it, but I want to read it, can I read it?"

"You better let her read," grinned Albus as he sat on the armchair and stared at the pages as Lily turned them, "otherwise she'll never let it go."

"Yes," she replied truthfully. "I'll never let it go."

Scorpius smiled at her and linked his hands on her hip, he stretched his neck to kiss her upper arm, but she was too focused on the book and didn't even notice. Her high cheekbones were flushed with excitement and her eyes were shining. She looked so beautiful all happy and thrilled with the—

"I found it!" she exclaimed. She cleared her throat, just like Albus had done, and started reading. "_The Order of Dìthean_," she said out loud, "_is an ancient order whose origins are lost in the dark abyss of time._"

"Cliché," huffed Albus.

"Shush," said Lily urgently. "_The Order's existence is dependent upon the Golden Orchid and its safety. As the Orchid is found only once in every generation, the Order's sole task has been to guard them until pollination can occur, and this is an activity that has been rumoured to have continued for centuries. The Orchid's natural habitat is the cold Highlands and plains of Scotland or Ireland (for more information, please consult the appropriate sections of _Legendary Plants of Great Britain and Ireland_) and, as such, the Order is only active in these regions for the sole purpose of monitoring its growth. The Order is presided over by a Maestro, who executes all decisions concerning the safety of its members, otherwise known as Adepts, and the Orchid's protection._"

Albus furrowed his brow. "I have never heard of this Order," he said, "honestly. It doesn't even ring a bell."

Scorpius shook his head. "Me neither."

"Same," sighed Lily. "Shall I continue?" Her voice was a bit less enthusiastic than before, as if the book was trying to discourage them from seeking the Order and the flower.

"Yes," replied Scorpius firmly.

She nodded. "_According to trustworthy sources, the Order immediately transfers a newly-flowered Orchid to a safe and undisclosed location that has never been discovered in centuries past. The unfortunate individuals that stumble upon the location are generally rendered incapable of sharing its secrets, but the first Maestro of the Order has founded a particularly safe method to ensure the flower's protection by illuminating the way to the Golden Orchid through the successful completion of three predetermined tasks._"

"I beg your pardon?" asked Albus, furrowing his brow. "Three tasks?"

"Like the Triwizard Cup?" asked Scorpius.

Lily's eyes skimmed through the remaining of the text, before humming a 'no' in reply. "Let me go on," she told them. "_The tasks determine the virtues of the flower's pursuer._" She swallowed and continued, "_The first virtue examined is purity. Only a pure individual will be able to go through the wall of stones._"

"What?"

"Shh. _The second virtue examined is clarity. Only those who possess a light heart and do not conceal shadows or secrets will be able to continue in their quest. The third and final virtue examined is nobility. Only those who are free from covetousness will truly understand that the flower cannot be owned, for whoever dares to take the flower for their own vile purposes will be punished accordingly._" She stopped and bit her bottom lip, her eyes lingering on the last line she had read.

Scorpius pulled her to him and kissed her cheek. "Luckily, we don't have any vile purpose in mind," he told her, "luckily, we need the flower for a really noble mission…"

Albus stretched his hands to take the book from his sister and Lily hugged Scorpius, her arms around his neck, her breathing against his skin.

"Is there anything else?" Albus asked. "I didn't understand a word you read, Lily. Three tasks and not a clue what the actual tasks are, all just metaphorical Dragon dung, if you ask me."

Scorpius couldn't help agreeing. "Well," he started, "probably once you are there – I mean where the Orchid is – the tasks become clear."

Albus cocked an eyebrow at him. "_Only a pure individual will be able to go through the wall of stones_," he read. "Okay, pure? What kind of purity are they talking about? Does that mean innocence? And innocence in what sense? Like someone who is nice and gentle like a child and…" His voice trailed away, his eyes widened and for a moment he seemed to be holding his breath. "A child! Alfie! That's… that's what they need him for! For the first task! Oh bloody hell!"

Lily straightened her back and blinked at that revelation. For a moment she looked confused as if she didn't know if she wanted to feel relieved that that was the meaning of Mrs Whittle's words – _His father wants to use him _– or if she should have been even more scared for the fate of that poor child.

She looked at Scorpius and shook her head in a disconsolate way. "That man wanted to use his two-year-old son as a mean to get to the flower," she murmured, "it's horrible!" She took a deep breath and added. "Scorpius, I think… I think we should keep him…"

"You two?" asked Albus, cocking an eyebrow. "Why do you keep saying that, Lily… are you… moving in together _already_?" He glanced at Scorpius, probably silently asking him if he had already asked her to marry him.

Scorpius glared at him. "No," he replied, "not _yet_."

Albus nodded. "And I'm too young to be an uncle," he chuckled. "I'm only twenty-three."

"Twenty-four," pointed out Lily.

"Whatever, little know-it-all," he replied playfully, snapping the book closed. "Have you memorised every word? Should we not take the book with us?"

Lily nodded firmly. "Every word," she assured him, "ask me anything."

Albus yawned. "For as fun as that is," he replied, "I'm too tired to test your brains tonight. I'll believe you…" He stood up and placed the book on a table. "I'm off to my flat."

"And I should go back home," said Lily, pushing her hands against Scorpius' chest, "what if Alfie wakes up and doesn't find me?"

Scorpius pulled her back to him and kissed her temple before hugging her tightly. "Hmm," he hummed in her hair, "your mum is with him. He'll be alright. Stay with me tonight…"

She giggled, but pushed at his chest once again. "Come to Grimmauld Place," she pointed out. "We can all sleep in my bed, we'll be like a family already…"

Scorpius let her go. "We don't want to scare Alfie," he reminded her, "with too many people sleeping around him. I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?"

She nodded and leaned in for another kiss before finally standing up.

"Need me to take you home, Lily?" asked Albus, walking towards the ancient chimney.

"Nope, perfectly able," she replied lightly. "Good night, Al." She stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek and he hugged her for a spare second before nodding at Scorpius and walking into the fireplace.

Once he was gone, Lily followed him, turning to grin at Scorpius before saying, "Twelve Grimmauld Place," out loud and finally disappearing.

oooOOOooo

The long table in the dining room was prepared for three people. One place, at the head of the table, was for Draco himself, one, at his left, was for Astoria, and there was another one at the other end of the table. Surely for Scorpius.

Draco didn't know his son was home for breakfast, he surely wasn't surprised about that though. He was rarely informed of his son's whereabouts. The house-elves were more involved in his life than himself.

And yes, he kept thinking that because he suffered.

He walked to his chair and sat comfortably on it. He opened the Daily Prophet and started reading about the last murder case in Diagon Alley, apparently Blaise Zabini's son and another Auror had managed to find the murderer before he could kill again. Well, well done those two. He still couldn't believe that Blaise Zabini's son was an Auror. And to be quite honest he still couldn't believe that his own son was an Auror too, and he still couldn't believe that he was going out with a Potter… He raised his eyes and looked in front of himself. Now that he thought about it, Draco couldn't believe quite a lot of things that had happened to him in the past few years.

The door of the dining room opened and Draco didn't even turn to look as he ordered, "I'd like a some orange juice while I wait for my wife and my son to join me."

"I'm not a house-elf," said Scorpius dryly, closing the door at his back.

Draco finally looked at him. He was dressed impeccably well in his Auror uniform. His boots were shining and his clothes freshly laundered. His blond hair was purposely messy on his head and his face was shaved clean.

"I thought you were," Draco admitted. "I didn't know you were home."

He shrugged a shoulder as he walked to the other side of the table and grabbed a toast. "Lily is busy with Alfie," he replied, "and I didn't want to impose."

Draco folded the newspaper again and poured himself a cup of tea. "Your mother said that she heard voices last night," he let him know, "I told her that they were the house-elves. Was I mistaken?"

Scorpius nodded. "We needed to consult a book in the library of the Manor."

"We?"

Scorpius spread a generous amount of butter on his second toast. "Al, Lily and I," he explained, "we're really close to find out about this legendary flower, it's called the Golden Orchid and amongst other things it also has the…" His voice trailed away, all his excitement lost as he looked away from his father.

"Yes?" he urged him on. "It sounds very interesting, Scorpius."

He bit his bottom lip. "Father, Mrs Potter said that you convinced her to… to give me her blessing to ask Lily to marry me," he told him unexpectedly.

Draco blinked in surprise at his words. Oh, it had changed to _that_ conversation now. The conversation that he had longed to have ever since Ginny Potter came to steal his Crup and that, at the same time, he had dreaded for the ridiculous level of awkwardness it would surely reach. "That's what she said," he murmured.

"Isn't it the truth?" asked Scorpius, eyeing him warily.

He sipped from his tea. "I might have said something that might have convinced Mrs Potter that it was time for her to let her daughter fly away from the maternal nest," he said slowly.

"Yeah," said Scorpius, "that… that's… thank you, Father…" His son lowered his eyes, blushing slightly as he thanked him.

Draco cocked his head. If he had to be completely honest, he hadn't thought about Scorpius the moment he had given the Crup to Lily. He had done it for the girl herself, because he – somehow – loved her. Nor had he thought about him when Ginny Potter had stormed into his study accusing him of putting her daughter against her. He had just basked in the satisfaction of being the adult there and teaching something to Potter's slightly insufferable wife.

But he was undeniably glad about that turn of events. Somehow, he was the good guy there. Somehow, he had done some good without even noticing. Wasn't that what the good guys did? They did good things not for the sake of doing good things, but because they were… good. Right? Or something like that. Draco was no expert. If anything, he was a beginner in being the good guy.

"That's alright, Scorpius," he finally said. "I'm happy I could help."

Scorpius nodded, nibbling at his toast. "I haven't asked her, yet," he let him know.

"Why not?" asked Draco gently, glad that he was finally having a conversation with his son.

"I haven't found the right moment," he told him, "I wanted to ask her the other night, but then Mrs Whittle brought the child, and now she is spending all her time with him, wouldn't leave him not even for a second… last night was an exception, just because we found some information on this legendary flower that might link the Toots case to the Whittles, and the flower… it's called the Golden Orchid and… apparently legends say that it can cure from every curse and every potion… even… even Memory Charms…"

Draco stiffed slightly. "You mean…"

Scorpius nodded. "Lily would get her memory of when she was a child back," he murmured, "I mean, she sometimes says that she doesn't mind, that she feels like she is her parents' daughter even without the memories of when she was a little girl… but… she suffers at times, I know that…"

"I've never heard of this flower," said Draco softly. "I hope you'll be able to find it."

Scorpius nodded. He downed his tea and stood up. "Have to go, now," he replied, "work."

"Sure," replied Draco. "Have a nice day, Scorpius."

"Thank you, Father," he replied. He walked towards the door and startled as his mother walked in. He greeted her and kissed her cheek before walking out and softly whistling a tune.

Astoria glanced at Draco with an eyebrow cocked. "What was that?" she asked as she walked to him to kiss his forehead.

Draco smirked a little. "Just having a conversation with my son," he replied nonchalantly, "about work and Lily and marriage…"

"You and Scorpius were conversing?" asked Astoria, sitting next to him. "Since when?"

"Apparently, since the moment Ginny Potter stole my Crup."

"Not still that story, Draco," sighed Astoria, before patting her leg and whistling. "Here Mister Fluff," she called her Kneazle.

"Astoria, no," Draco scolded her, "not at the breakfast table. No, don't put him in your lap, it's not hygienic… no, I don't want to feel how soft he is… take him off my lap!"

oooOOOooo

"Ice cream!" said Alfie gleefully, hugging Lily's legs.

Lily cocked her head and tried to look as severe as possible. "You can't have ice cream before lunch, Alfie," she told him, as she bent down to grasp him under his armpits. "Then I'm sure you won't eat your lunch, just like it happened yesterday. And it's not healthy." She took him in her arms and smiled at him.

She had been fooled by the child's begging eyes once already, she wasn't going to allow him to eat ice cream again, especially right before lunch. If she was going to adopt him – or become a mother any time soon anyway – she would have had to teach him to lead a healthy lifestyle and that 'no' meant 'no'.

"No, Lily!" he protested. "Please…"

"No, Alfie," she replied patiently, "Scorpius and Al are coming for lunch, you want to be a good boy and show them that you can eat everything on your plate, right? Otherwise Scorpius won't play with you afterwards."

He pouted but nodded meekly at her.

She beamed at him. "But we can have some orange juice or maybe an apple as a snack, what do you think?"

He brought his hands to his face and shook his head.

"Why don't we do this," she proposed, walking towards the kitchen, "I'll peel the apple and fashion eight little boats out of it, and you'll tell me which one is the most beautiful one, okay? You'll eat all the ugly ones and then I'll tell you if I really think that you were right…"

He nodded happily. Yes, that was what he wanted, another little game, another spot of fun. Lily knew, Lily would be a wonderful mother to him.

She giggled as she walked into the kitchen and sat him down at the kitchen table. "You wait here," she told him, as she walked to the pantry, "and I'll get an apple from the pantry, and some orange juice, orange juice is always nice, isn't it, Alfie?"

"Yes," he replied and she smiled at him over her shoulder as she disappeared through the door that led to the pantry. She drew out her wand to light up the dark, little room and locate the basket of fruit that Kreacher and Taffy kept there. She chose a particularly red apple, juicy and surely sweeter than the green and yellow ones.

"Oof," she let out when Alfie's little body collided with the back of her legs. "Alfie," she called him gently, turning to look at him. "I told you to wait at the…" Her words trailed away as she stared into the dark eyes of a man standing in front of her. Not Mr Whittle, nor Mrs Whittle. Just a tall man who had Floo Powder all over his shoulders and eyes as shiny as hot coals.

Lily scooped Alfie up in her arms and pointed her wand. "Who are you?" she asked fearfully. "Get out of my house!"

"Give me the child," hissed the man. "Give me the child and I'll be on my way."

"No," she replied, "never." She waved her wand and said, "_Stupefy_!" but the man stepped back into the kitchen, sheltered by the wall between the two rooms.

Lily hugged Alfie almost spasmodically, before putting him down. "Hide there," she told him in an urgent whisper, pointing under a shelf in a corner. "Don't come out until I tell you," she told him, "or until my mum tells you to." Yes, if she was going to die, surely someone else would have had to tell him to come out at her place.

Obediently and silently, Alfie slid on the floor and went to crouch in a corner. Lily would have happily died if that was what it took to keep that man away from Alfie. Why did her mother have to go to the Daily Prophet to turn in her weekly article that morning? Why of all days?

She kept her wand in front of her, her arm stretched as she took a step towards the door. Her breath was laboured, she was shaking slightly, she needed to focus and be calm. Scorpius would be calm. Scorpius would know what to do. And Albus as well, and James and her parents… everybody in her family would…

"_Crucio!_"

It was only a fraction of a second long, but she ducked just in time and the spell hit the wall at her back. "_Expelliarmus!_" she cried frantically, but he was closer than she had thought and his fingers closed around her wrist and twisted it painfully until she let out a cry as a crinkly sound could be heard from her hand.

"Oops," hissed the man, coming to stand behind her and pointing his wand at her throat. "I think I broke some of your little, delicate bones," he breathed in her ear, "tell the child to come out or I'll break your arm."

She pushed back the tears of pain that were springing from her eyes as she wriggled in his arms. "You'll have to kill me," she snarled, "I'd rather die than—mhmph!"

His hand clamped on her mouth, and despite Lily tried to bite him it was to no avail.

"Alfie," said the man in a fake-sweet voice, "come out, come out. It's time to go and see Mummy and Daddy…"

Lily tried to dig her nails into the man's hand around her mouth, but one of her hand was bent painfully and unnaturally at her side, and her left hand was too weak to do him damage.

There was a rustling of feet on the ground and for a moment Lily's heart jumped out of her chest at the thought that he might come out and go to the man. She couldn't allow that. She wouldn't have allowed that.

That man was not going to take away Alfie. He was… her child… almost. She was like a mother to him, and she had to keep him safe, she would not have let that man take him away from her.

"Ouch!" snapped the man as something heavy hit him on his head, right next to Lily's ear.

Lily looked on the floor as the apple rolled away from her.

_Oh Merlin. Please, don't let anything fall on Alfie_, she thought despairingly as she closed her eyes and focused on the man.

The first things to fly towards him were the foods that they had stored in the pantry. Fruits, boxes of cereals, vegetables, they hit the man with precision, and soon he had to let her go to shield himself from the assault.

"Hey! What the hell!" he snarled as he tried to dunk and move his arm over his head to protect his face. Then baskets and plates and bottles of oil and water and wine were flying towards him, crashing against his head and his legs and his ribs and he was moaning in pain.

"Stop it! Stop it or I'll kill—fuck!"

A shelf fell over him and he had just the time to step back and jump into the kitchen before it fell against the doorframe. Lily crawled away on her knees and one hand, the other on her chest.

"You little demon!" snarled the man, but before he could try again to reach them, Lily heard the drawers of the kitchen vibrate and the cutlery getting ready to be thrown at that man's head.

"Sodding hell," he hissed. "That doesn't end here!" She heard the crashing sound of a window and then his steps faded away on the garden of Grimmauld Place.

"Alfie," called Lily, "Alfie. Are you alright? Alfie, come here, dear, are you alright? Are you okay?"

Alfie crawled out from under the shelf, his face covered in tears. He threw himself at Lily and she winced only slightly as he pushed against her broken hand.

"It's alright," she soothed him, "he's gone… it's alright…" She hugged him tightly and cried, "Taffy! Kreacher! Taffy!"

They both appeared in the pantry and the pop of their magic was followed by the gasps of their surprise.

"Miss Lily! Young Master Alfie!" squealed Taffy, going to her to hug her. "Is Miss Lily hurt? Is Young Master Alfie hurt?"

"We're okay," she breathed, ignoring the throbbing in her hand. "I… Taffy, go to the Ministry, call my dad and Scorpius, and Al and James… Everybody, I… tell them that someone broke into the house, they used the Floo! Go! Tell them to come!"

Taffy squealed in assent and disappeared into thin air.

Alfie hugged her more tightly and Lily winced again.

"Is Miss Lily in pain?" asked Kreacher softly, walking to her. "Should Kreacher go to St Mungo's to find a Healer?"

She shook her head. The perspective to be left there alone with Alfie made her shiver. "No," she replied feebly, "stay here with us until someone comes."

Kreacher patted her shoulder comfortingly in a way he had never done before. "Miss Lily doesn't worry," he said in his old, raspy voice, "Kreacher will protect her if someone comes again."

She smiled at the elf as she leaned back against the wall wearily.

Then Taffy appeared again, her hand secured around Scorpius' wrist as she Apparated him into the house with her magic.

"Lily!" Scorpius voice was panicked as he took in her pale face and the state of the pantry. "Oh Merlin! Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened? Is Alfie alright? Oh my! Oh bloody hell!"

She smiled reassuringly at him.

He knelt next to her and placed a hand on her forehead, wiping away some sweat. "Your father is coming," he assured her, "and a horde of Aurors. Oh my… what happened?"

He searched for her hand, but she hissed in pain when he clutched his fingers around her broken bones. "Bloody hell," he growled, lightening his wand. "Does it hurt? Is it broken? What happened?"

She wanted to reply to him, but at that moment there were furious steps that entered the kitchen and then cries of her name and people were trying to move the shelves and then everything went black and the last thing she remembered were Scorpius' arms around her as he caught her.

oooOOOooo

"He wanted Alfie!" cried Lily as she sat up on her bed.

Her complexion was pale and her brown eyes looked huge – bigger than usual – on her tired face. They were also burning with fear as they roamed for the room.

Scorpius stood from the chair near the fireplace and went to her at once. He sat next to her on the bed and pushed her back down on her pillows.

A fainting spell caused by the fear and the pain, but especially by her uncontrollable magic that had reduced the pantry of Grimmauld Place to a battlefield and had luckily scared the man away, that was what the Healers had said when they had come to heal her broken hand and ordered that she was brought to bed at once with a sleeping potion.

Head Auror Harry Potter had almost had a nervous breakdown, Scorpius had never seen him like that, he had kissed the limp body of his daughter so many times that all Scorpius could do was gathering Alfie in his arms and soothing his tremors and leave his boss to wait with Lily for the Healers.

Rose had cried – in a very un-Auror way – and James and Albus had gone half-mad themselves with the realisation that someone was about to kidnap another almost member of their family.

Mrs Potter was the one who had almost fainted herself when she walked back into her house completely in the shadows about what had gone on there. She had said that it was all her fault, that she should have never left Lily and Alfie alone, that if something had happened to her daughter she would have killed someone, and that she didn't care, she would have been happy to go to Azkaban.

The Healers gave some sleeping potion to her too.

And now James, Rose, Albus and Scorpius were waiting in Lily's room while Mrs Potter and Alfie were sleeping in Mrs and Mr Potter's bed. The Head Auror, his Deputy and Auror Lupin were downstairs talking probably about warding spells and closing the Floo Network to Grimmauld Place.

"He wanted Alfie," repeated Lily, her eyes shining. She was cold, but looked almost feverish. And she was awake in the middle of the night, which was weird because the sleeping draught should have knocked her out until the following morning if not afternoon.

Rose, James and Albus crowded around her bed, Rose sitting on the other side.

"Who was he?" asked James softly.

Lily looked at him and shook her head. "I don't know," she replied, "I've never seen him. He wasn't Mister Whittle. He had dark hair and dark eyes, he looked evil. He wanted Alfie, he wanted him, he told him to come out that they would go to see his parents."

Scorpius took her hand in his and drew circles with his thumb on her smooth skin. "Everything is going to be alright," he whispered soothingly, "you and Alfie are going to be looked after twenty-four seven now and—"

She shook her head. "You have to go and send those people to Azkaban," she said desperately, looking from Scorpius to her brothers to Rose, "we can't let them get close to—where's Alfie?" She sat up again, eyes shining once again dangerously.

"With your Mum," said Rose gently, "sleeping."

She looked at Rose as if she had difficulties believing her, but then nodded and lay back down.

Silence enveloped her bedroom for some long moments before Albus finally spoke, "Hem, Lily…" he said softly, "would you like me to read something to you? We were checking out Toots' wife's book to see if there was something about her that linked back to the Whittles and she's quite hilarious."

Lily looked at him warily but when Albus raised the book in front of her she sat up again, this time crawling on the bed in her pyjamas to where Albus was standing.

"Lily!" exclaimed Scorpius, startled by her sudden movements.

She grasped the book in her hands and gasped. "That's Toots' wife?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes," replied Albus softly, "well, she's much older than that now, much more grey hair than—"

"Hookum!" she exclaimed. "Daisy Hookum!"

Albus glanced at Scorpius. "Yeah," he replied slowly, "weird name, isn't it? I think she wrote this before getting married and never bothered to change it on the cover…"

"No!" she exclaimed. "Mrs Whittle was née Hookum!"

Scorpius felt his heart skipping a beat. Mrs Whittle shared the same surname with Toots' wife. Was that a coincidence? It didn't seem likely. Were the two women related? But… the thought that had formed in the past days in Scorpius' mind was that Whittle had killed Toots to discover his secret research about that damn flower… but how could they murder Toots if they were related to his wife? That was… that was ridiculous!

"Excuse me," let out Albus, eyes wide. "Mrs Whittle is related to Toots' wife?"

Lily nodded forcefully. "Yes, she certainly is!" she exclaimed. "Oh my, you have to go to Toots' house! You have to arrest them all! I'm sure they… they did something! I'm sure they…"

Scorpius walked to her and closed his fingers on her upper arm, pulling her to him. "Lily, you need to go back to bed," he told her, "it's the middle of the night, we'll put wards on the house and tomorrow morning we'll go and check the Toots' residence first thing in the morning."

"No," she urged them, grasping Scorpius' shirt. "You have to go now."

He guided her back to bed. "No," he said firmly, "we have to make sure that you're alright first, and put the wards up and close the Floo and…"

She whined as he pushed her back gently on the bed and covered her with the blankets once more, he smiled at her, but she looked away and pouted like a child.

"Lily," said Rose soothingly, trying to squeeze her hand.

"Well, let me sleep then," she snapped rather rudely. "If you say that I have to recover, let me sleep."

"Lily don't be mad…" groaned James.

"I'm not," she replied tightly. "Go and set up the wards and do all your Auror-ish things."

"Would you like me to stay and keep you company?" asked Rose gently.

"No."

Scorpius looked as Rose seemed surprised by her rude answer. He glanced at Lily and asked, "Shall I stay the night?"

"No," she said again, folding her arms across her chest and staring stubbornly in front of herself.

"Lily…"

"Go and let me sleep!" she snapped, still not looking at Scorpius nor anybody else.

Scorpius looked at Albus and he shrugged a shoulder back at him, nodding towards the door with a nod of his head.

Rose stretched a hand to caress Lily's hair before standing up and walking with James towards the door, Albus following them outside.

"Lily…"

"Go," she said dryly, sliding down on the bed and bringing the covers up to her face, cocooning herself in the blankets and giving him her back.

Scorpius sighed as he strode out of the room. He wanted to stay behind and tell her that everything was going to be all right, that she and Alfie were his priority and that the next morning they would have gone to see Mrs Toots, but she certainly looked too upset to listen to him.

"Sleep tight," he whispered to her as he closed the door of her room.

"Merlin," muttered James, "the whole thing must have shaken her badly. She's never… never that snappish…"

"Well, someone broke in and broke her hand as he threatened to take Alfie away," pointed out Rose, "I think she has all the right to be snappish if she wants to…"

They walked downstairs in utter silence, probably all of them lost in their thoughts, Scorpius surely was. He wanted to go back upstairs, talk to her, let her know that she was right, that he was an idiot, that he would have gone straight to the Toots residence and talked to Mrs Daisy Toots née Hookum and asked her if she was related to Mrs Whittle née Hookum and then arrest her for having surely sent someone to try to kill his girlfriend.

At the same time, though, the very thought of even leaving that house and Lily behind to go and talk to that crazy woman made him incredibly nervous.

"Why are you all here?" asked Mr Potter as they entered into the living room. "What's wrong? Why aren't you with Lily?"

"She doesn't want us to be in her room," sighed Albus, collapsing on an armchair near Teddy, "not even Scorpius." He nodded towards the blond man.

Scorpius lowered his eyes, his cheeks heating as he felt everybody's eyes on him. What were they thinking? Surely that there was something serious going on if Scorpius too was there instead of upstairs holding her.

"She doesn't want anybody?" asked Teddy, straightening up his back. "How can she be already awake?"

"No idea," murmured Scorpius.

"Have you decided what to do about the Floo and the warding spells?" asked James.

"Taffy said that this man had used the Floo," replied Mr Potter, "we are going to close it for a while. Tomorrow morning we'll file a request at the Department of Magical Transportation."

"And we've already put warding spells all around the house," added Teddy, "no one can Apparate, not even in the garden this time."

"And the Fidelius Charm," said Mr Weasley, "nobody who doesn't already know about the house will be able to find it."

"Well, that man now knows about the house," pointed out James.

Mr Potter nodded. "Yes," he replied, "that's why we're having Aurors here all day and all night."

"I'll stay," said Scorpius promptly, grey eyes wide with expectation.

Mr Potter smiled and nodded. "I knew you would, Scorpius," he told him softly. "Al?"

"Of course," he replied, nodding seriously.

"You two can cover tonight shift then," replied Mr Potter. "And James and Rose can come here tomorrow morning. I'm sure Ginny and Lily and Alfie will be much less in agitation if there are people they know. Uncle Ron, Teddy and I will come to check on you every few hours."

"I'd rather cover every shift," said Scorpius seriously.

"Of course, Scorpius," replied Mr Potter. "Do as you like."

"I should go now," announced Teddy, "Vicky said that she was going to keep Hugo there until I was back. She doesn't feel too safe after what had happened here."

"Rightfully so," replied Mr Weasley. "Alright, I should go too, Hermione is home all alone and I'd rather be with her than know—oh stop your fake gagging, James!"

James grinned at his uncle, but Rose slapped his upper arm. "There's nothing funny about it," she told him curtly, "my Mum is home alone in a night like this and he is right to worry."

"You're going to be home alone as well," pointed out Albus.

"Right," replied James, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "You are not, you're coming to my flat."

"That smelly place near the Leaky Cauldron?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. "Nope, and I… I don't need anybody, thank you very much."

James cocked an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure? You want to be alone?"

"Maybe she's not going to be alone…" chuckled Albus.

James narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked, before realisation finally set in. "You mean… you and Emeric…"

Rose turned as crimson as her hair as she stepped towards the fireplace. "He doesn't mean anything," she snapped, "and you should mind your own business! Good night!" And grabbing a furious fistful of Floo Powder she walked into the hearth and was whisked away by green flames.

"Yes, so…" murmured Albus as she was gone. "I think she was seeing Emeric or something like that tonight… to talk I guess…"

"Talk?" asked James. "Is that how they call it now?"

"James!" thundered Mr Weasley.

"Sorry," he replied. "Well, I'm out of here. Night, guys."

Finally they were all saying their goodnights and goodbyes and repeating that they would see each other in the morning before lining in a tidy queue to the fireplace to use the Floo for the last time.

"I'm going to bed," said Mr Potter, standing up. "Do you need anything for the night?"

"Nope, Dad," replied Albus, "I have my pyjamas in my old bedroom." He looked at Scorpius and added, "I call bagsie on my bedroom."

Scorpius raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "I don't want to sleep in your old bedroom," he told him tersely.

"Well, you can't sleep with Lily," he pointed out.

"We've enough rooms for a Quidditch team in this house," said Mr Potter. "Goodnight guys, and keep your wands close."

"Yes, Sir," replied Scorpius quickly. "Goodnight."

"Night, Dad," said Albus, yawning as he tried to stand from the armchair. "You can sleep in James' bedroom, I'm sure Kreacher disinfected it when James moved out."

Scorpius bit his bottom lip as he stared at the stairs. "I want to—"

"No, out of question, nope, don't even think about it."

"You don't even know—"

"I do," replied Albus, folding his arms across his chest. "You want to go and try to talk Lily into letting you sleep with her." He patted Scorpius' shoulder gravely as he sighed. "I know you're not used to her being mad at you, but believe me when I tell you that tomorrow morning everything will be better."

Scorpius shrugged his hand away. "You," he told him dryly, "don't know anything about relationships, Al. The longest you've ever been with a girl is two weeks and I don't think that you've ever had any argument with any of them, because all the girls you go out with have the IQ of a Pygmy Puff. So don't give me relationship advice because I won't accept it."

"You're going to talk to her."

"Yes," replied Scorpius firmly. He turned away and started walking up the stairs. "Don't follow me!"

"I'm not following you, you crazy person in love," sighed Albus, "I'm going to my room." He made a great show of opening the door that used to be his old bedroom when he still lived at Grimmauld Place, and added, "That's James' old room. So that you're not going to disturb me when Lily throws something at you and you don't know where to sleep."

Scorpius darkened. First of all, he knew where every room was at Grimmauld Place. Second, she wouldn't do anything like that. Not to him at least. He was just going to say that he was sorry. He had done that quite a lot of times in the past few days and he would continue until everything was just alright again.

Albus closed the door of his old room and Scorpius proceeded to knock on Lily's door. No reply came from the other side. She was definitely still angry.

He knocked again, but still, she wouldn't reply.

He took a deep breath as he pushed the door open. "Lily," he whispered in the darkness of the room. "Lily, are you sleeping already?"

She took a deep breath under the covers, but didn't reply. He didn't know if she was sleeping or if she was awake and just wanted to ignore him. He walked inside and closed the door at his back. He kicked off his shoes and went to lie down next to her over the many layers of blankets.

"Lily," he murmured again, "I'm sorry. You are right, we should go straight away to investigate at the Toots', but to us you and Alfie are more important. We just want to make sure that you're alright, you know?"

She didn't reply, she just breathed softly next to him. "Listen, I love you, and it hurts me when you give me the silent treatment, you know… I would want you to always talk to me… I miss the sound of your voice when you don't whisper all those things in my ear…"

He sighed when she still wouldn't reply to him. "You know," he finally admitted, "I was going to ask you to marry me, the other night before Mrs Whittle brought Alfie over. I wanted to bring you up to the roof terrace and get down on one knee and ask you to marry me… I even have the ring from my mother's engagement. I mean, you always say that we'll get married one day, just like Viridina and the knight and I just… I think that that moment's arrived. I want to spend my whole life with you, you know, every single moment… just the two of us, you know I'm supposed to live at the Manor because I'm the only heir, but I'd like to get a house somewhere and live with you without anybody else… Of course, your mother has already assured me that she'll come over every day and that we'll have to come here for dinner every night, but still… at least we could sleep alone without worrying about anybody in the house… until we've got children at least… I love you Lily… I… I think I'm asking you to marry me right now, I don't have the ring with me, but I can't wait for you to see it. It's beautiful, okay not as beautiful as you are, but still…"

When she still wouldn't reply, he stretched a hand to her shoulder to try to make her acknowledge his presence. "Lily…" he murmured as his hand sunk into an exceptionally soft body.

_Too soft. _

Scorpius furrowed his brow as he moved away the blankets and stared at… _pillows_. A pile of pillows stacked neatly under the covers to look like a body and enchanted to breathe like a person.

"Blood hell, Lily!" cursed Scorpius quietly. He lightened his wand and looked for the room. Lily's broom was missing. Merlin!

_She… she was gone_.

Scorpius had just asked to a pile of pillows to marry him and his girlfriend was gone on Merlin only knew what kind of foolish mission.

He stood up and pushed his feet back into his shoes. Oh, but he knew what mission… he knew perfectly well where she had gone, and when he found her once again, he would have been the one to give her the silent treatment.

He walked out of her room and padded down the corridor to Albus' room. He didn't even knock before pushing the door open.

"Hey! I'm naked!" complained Albus, covering himself with a big onesie covered in flying Snitches.

Scorpius ignored him. "Your sister's gone."

"What?" spluttered Albus, the onesie falling to the floor and leaving him completely nude. "Someone came? I didn't hear anything! How did they get in? Fuck!"

"No, she's gone of her own volition," replied Scorpius darkly, averting his eyes from his friend. "Get dressed, I think she's gone to the Toots."

Albus grabbed his uniform. "She's crazy," he grunted, "she's crazy. When we find her I'm going to punish her. I'm going to lock her in her room and not let her get out of there until she is eighty."

"You're not her father," pointed out Scorpius, but having Lily locked up in a room until she was eighty was actually not a bad idea.

"Well, wait till I tell my father—"

"You can't do that now," he told him, "he's going to flip out. Let's go, let's go and get her, let's pretend to arrest her if she's broken into the house and then let's bring her home and tell your parents." He darkened. "I'm looking forward to hearing them scream at her."

Albus nodded. "Let's go," he replied, and as they walked on tiptoes down the stairs and pushed the front door open to get to a place where they could Apparate, Scorpius wished fervently that nothing bad had happened to her.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hmm, yes, in case you were wondering, Lily has some powers à la Ariana Dumbledore. It's another partying gift from Nott... At least here she could use them at her own advantage, right? Any thoughts on that subplot? Do you like it? Also, here you go! Scorpius just proposed! Aren't you happy? LOL!


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Notes: **Dun dun duuuuuun! That's all I'm saying here!

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Lily crouched next to a Flutterby bush and stared at the house in front of her with wide eyes. The lights were still on in almost all the windows and there were shadows moving behind the curtains.

She huffed with impatience and shook her head. _Mrs Toots lives alone_, that was what Scorpius and Albus had told her. Well, did she now? She looked like she lived with a horde of people.

Lily was sure that Mr and Mrs Whittle were there as well. Maybe at that very moment, someone was torturing Mrs Whittle because she had managed to save Alfie from whatever surely horrible fate his father had in mind for him.

And if Albus and Scorpius were not going to stop that woman and her crazy family, Lily would have done that at their place. She would have used her magic, the magic that she was usually scared to use and she would have created havoc in that house. She would have destroyed everything on her path and then she would have called the Aurors.

The Flutterby bush started to shudder next to her and she brushed away some leaves from her face. What an inconvenient plant! But as she looked at that garden from behind the bush, she noticed that everything was either moving or slithering its way around the grass in that place.

She took a deep breath and raised her wand. She should have gotten her father's Invisibility Cloak, surely that would have been useful now. She could have gotten inside, silently knocked off people with her wand and her elbows and they wouldn't even have known what was coming to them.

Well, Lily Luna Potter was coming to them! She was going to avenge their boldness to use the Floo and get into her house to scare Alfie that way.

She tried to stand up and make her way through the dark garden, but two subtle pops of Apparition and a hand firmly clasped on her mouth made her stop and gasp in surprise.

The hand guided her back down behind the bush as she tried to wriggle free of the body that was pressing against her back and of the other who was grasping her wand out of her hand.

"You are grounded," was the low growl of a very angry Scorpius near her ear. "I'm not your father, but I'm going to ground you anyway."

"Yes," said Albus, from her right. "And I'm going to suggest to Dad to lock you in your room until you are eighty."

She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes as Scorpius released her mouth and let her go. She grasped her wand off of Albus' fingers and turned to look at them, kneeling on the dirty ground.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked almost aggressively. Well, she was about to go in there and knock off some bad people and they had just interrupted her.

Scorpius glared at her. "I've just cuddled and talked to a pile of pillows for the past ten minutes," he let her know. "When I noticed that it wasn't you, I honestly wanted to… to…"

"To?" she asked, biting her bottom lip.

He looked at her and sighed. "You scared me, Lily," he murmured, "I didn't know where you were, you are supposed to be sleeping, you ingested a sleeping draught, I mean… how can you even walk around?"

"I don't know. It must be my magic," she replied, shrugging a shoulder. It wasn't the first time that her uncontrollable magic made her stronger and more resistant to potions and spells. "But now that you are here, we can go in there all three of us. I'll pretend to be an Auror. Let's—"

"No, no, no," snapped Albus vehemently. "We are going back home. Now. And you are not pretending to be an Auror or anything like that. Scorpius and I will come back tomorrow morning and when we get back we'll wake up Dad and tell him that you, Missy, walked out of the house like that and that you were going to… actually what on earth were you going to do?"

Lily gritted her teeth like a Crup. "I was going in there and Stun them all and then arrest them!" she announced triumphantly.

Albus looked at her and shook his head. "Crazy," he muttered, "completely crazy."

"Let's just go, okay?" murmured Scorpius, grasping her wrist. "This bush is moving and I don't like it."

"Well, if it's the bush that you don't like, lad," said a voice above their heads, "you're in for quite a treat. _Stupefy_!"

And that was the last thing that Lily heard.

oooOOOooo

When Scorpius came back to his senses his head was spinning and throbbing and his arms were hurting. Well, no surprise really, since his wrists seemed tied on his back by some invisible force, and his head was leaning against the cold floor of some sort of… sort of… sort of floor, he imagined. He would have had to open his eyes to check his surroundings, but he really didn't want to. He felt like even raising his eyelids was going to make him hurt even more.

"Here," a voice that he vaguely recognised said, "this one is awake."

Oh Merlin, he let out a soft groan as he waited for hands to grasp him and unceremoniously pull him to his feet, instead the steps stopped close to him and then Lily let out a whimper as she was dragged to a standing position.

"Let me go! I'm an Auror! Let me go!" she cried.

Scorpius' eyes flew open as he turned to look at his girlfriend in the arms of a dark haired man, her legs wriggling and trying to kick him in the shins. "Hey! Don't touch her!" screamed Scorpius, trying to stand up without managing. "Don't touch her! I'll kill you if you touch her!"

There was laughter and he expected someone to kick him in the ribs for having talked, instead a man grabbed his upper arm and he too was yanked brusquely to his feet. When he opened his eyes again he was staring into the round face of Mrs Daisy Toots.

"Well, well," she murmured, looking into Scorpius' eyes. "Trespassing on a private property in the middle of the night and disturbing my Flutterby bush. I was given the impression that you were Aurors."

"We are!" snapped Lily, trying to wriggle free of the man who was holding her against his chest.

"Stop moving," he growled, "or I'll break your arm this time."

Scorpius looked at the man and took notice of his face. The face he would have punched to a pulp later.

There was a groan from the floor and someone pulled Albus to his feet next to him. The head of the dark-haired man lolled on his neck and as he opened his green eyes and tried to focus them before closing them again.

"Al!" cried Lily. "Al! Are you alright?"

"Shut up!" snarled the man, pressing a hand over her mouth.

"Let her go!" shouted Scorpius. "Don't touch her!"

"Enough," thundered Mrs Toots. "Bring them forth, we're going to use them to get to the other side."

They were turned around and pushed forward. Well, him and Albus were, Lily was picked up at the waist and lifted bodily, her legs kicking the air as quickly as the wings of a hummingbird.

Scorpius looked around himself as he was made to walk. That was not Toots' house. Well, that was not a house at all. It looked like a temple or some place of worship. The floor was made of large – and cold, as he could still feel his cooled cheek – stones, the walls themselves seemed to have been carved out of naked rocks as if the whole place was inside a cave or something.

The three of them were being pushed forward on a wide path skirted by thick columns which went up to the high ceiling. Scorpius couldn't see with precision, but the columns seemed to be decorated with writings and drawings of flowers and people and corpses. Nothing good.

There were three men dressed in black Wizarding robes and holding the three of them tightly. The man that had Lily was the one who must have come to Grimmauld Place earlier that day – or was it already the day before? Scorpius didn't know for how long they had been unconscious. But he couldn't recognise the other two brutes. Mrs Toots was walking in front of them, her long, dark cloak covering her from head to toe, and she moved quickly and nosily on the large stones.

"What kind of place is this?" muttered Albus.

Scorpius was going to reply that he had no idea, when Mrs Toots turned and smirked at them. "Oh, I'm sure you can imagine what kind of place this is," she said silkily, "you have my book after all, don't you?"

"It's where the Golden Orchid is enshrined," muttered Scorpius.

"Very good," hissed Mrs Toots, looking away. She didn't add another word to that and Scorpius was pushed forward a bit more forcefully now, as if he had talked enough and was now time to walk.

He turned to sneak a glance at Lily. She was still struggling in the arms of the man. Her legs kicking the air and making it all the more difficult for her captor to walk with her.

"Put her over your shoulder," snapped the man that was pushing Scorpius forward. "She's going to kick me too if she keeps that up."

"And release her mouth?" asked the man back. "I'd rather have you kicked."

"Shut up," snarled Mrs Toots, without even turning. She guided the group through a high door that seemed to have been fashioned to let giants walk through, and they found themselves at the top of a long and winding staircase. Scorpius looked down and couldn't see the end of it, since it was swallowed by darkness.

Without a warning he was pushed forward and had to take two steps in quick succession to stay upright. Then they started the descend.

"Ouch!" cried the brute who was holding Lily. He shook his hand in front of them as if he had just been bitten and Scorpius felt a surge of pride.

"Let me go!" cried Lily. "Let us go! I'll make you pay! I'll arrest you!"

Scorpius tried to turn and look at her, but could only see her legs swinging near the head of her captor as he flung her over his shoulder.

"Stop moving!" snapped the man, spanking her hard. "Otherwise we're going to fall down the stairs and ruin your pretty little face."

Mrs Toots stopped in front of them and turned to look at Lily too. She walked back up a couple of steps and Scorpius stared with his heart in his throat as she circled them and went to stand in front of his girlfriend.

"Hmm," she murmured, "arrest us? How can a poor, little kindergarten teacher arrest us, uh? Oh yes, I know everything about you, Lily, I know you have my nephew at your house, that idiot of my niece brought him there. Are you being a good mummy to him?"

There was a low growl, coming probably from Lily, but before she could retort anything Mrs Toots snarled, "_Silencio!_" and all Lily could do was humming in protest when the woman slapped her cheek.

"Lily!" shouted Albus.

"Don't you dare touch her!" cried Scorpius, elbowing the man at his back to try to reach his girlfriend. "Don't you dare! I'll kill you if you touch her again!"

Mrs Toots laughed at him as she walked back in front of them and looked into Scorpius' eyes. "Well, well, someone is in love," she hissed. "How sweet, I'm sure we can use this at our advantage…"

She turned again and kept walking down the stairs and once more Scorpius and Albus were pushed forward while Lily's legs were moving far less quickly than before over that man's shoulder.

Scorpius glanced at Albus and saw that he was trying to twist his neck to look at his sister, but every time his eyes left the stairs he stumbled over and had to look forward again.

They kept climbing down the stairs for what seemed hours to Scorpius. There were torches on either side of the staircase, but they only lit up when they walked past them and the fire extinguished when they moved forward. The temperature was becoming higher with every step they took and soon Scorpius found his hairline matted with perspiration and his Auror uniform plastered to his back.

"Do we have to walk long still?" asked Albus dryly.

Mrs Toots laughed. "Tired?"

"Yes," snapped Albus, "and it's bloody hot in here."

They finally reached the bottom of the stairs and Scorpius looked around at the dark and humid cave in front of them. It was properly a cave now, they could even hear a distant underground river flowing angrily between the rocks, there were columns there too, shorter than the ones upstairs – because the ceiling now was much closer than before – but still covered in signs and drawings and writings. The walls were weeping with humidity and the floor was as smooth as if thousands of feet had walked it in the past centuries.

Then, all of a sudden, the ceiling started to become higher again, only it didn't. It was the floor that was descending almost brusquely in front of them, giving them a view of the place from a higher point of view.

There were some more columns and then, near the last one, there was a group of people standing there in a corner and talking nervously in hushed tones, about what Scorpius couldn't tell. They all turned their heads towards them as they started to descend.

Near the group of people there was a bassinet with a silvery liquid inside. Silvery and thick and almost glowing in the light of the torches. On the other side of the cave there was a wall covered in more signs and low reliefs and writings and drawings, but the people seemed to want to stay well clear of that wall, either that or they had been given an order to wait for them there.

It was only when they had reached the end of the sloping floor and the ground was once again even under their feet, that Scorpius could make out some of the people there. Not many, just two, and they were not unexpected. Mr and Mrs Whittle stood there in two very different positions. Mrs Whittle was in a corner, looking positively frightened. Her white face sported a fresh bruise and her hands were shaking in her lap. Mr Whittle, au contraire, looked almost with hatred at Lily and when his eyes locked with Scorpius' he smirked.

The other people – a dozen or so – just stood there and looked expectantly at Mrs Toots, who seemed to be the brain of this gang of delinquent people.

Finally, they stopped right in front of them.

Lily was put back to her feet and Scorpius gritted his teeth when he caught sight of her cheek blooming red. Mrs Toots took a few steps ahead of her and turned to point her wand at Lily.

"No!" cried Albus as Lily's eyes went wide.

"_Finite Incantatem_," hissed Mrs Toots and Lily was free to move her hands and to talk again as she let out a groan when she brought her fingers to touch her cheek.

Then, in quick succession, Albus and Scorpius were released too, but the men behind them grasped their forearms and kept them from even trying to fight back.

"Lily," said Albus quickly, "Lily, are you okay?"

"Yes," she replied, looking at him and then at Scorpius. "She hits like a girl."

Scorpius smiled at her, but then Mrs Whittle rushed at their side and tried to reach Lily before her husband pulled her back. "Lily!" she called her. "Lily! How's Alfie? Is he alright? Is he okay?"

Lily nodded and tried to smile at her. "He's wonderful," she told her quietly, "and safe, don't worry, I protected him."

"Oh my, Georgina," hissed Mrs Toots, "your son was perfectly fine with us. He was just the one that we needed to open that wall, and now…" She turned and looked at Lily. "Now we'll have to go with what we've here…"

She moved forward and tried to grab Lily, but she stepped back and crashed against the man, who immobilised her again.

"Wait!" snapped Scorpius. "What the hell! What do you need her for? Take me, bloody hell, take me!"

Mrs Toots looked at him and furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry," she hissed, "I thought you knew already why you were here…"

"You want the Orchid," said Scorpius, "that's all we know."

Mrs Toots sniggered quietly. "That's all you know," she repeated. "Of course, you don't know anything. Of course, you two are the most incapable Aurors I've ever had the misfortune to meet. Even when you came to my house and asked me about my poor husband and how he died… and who could have ever killed him? Oh my! Oh my!" She sniggered again and added, "Can you guess who killed him now?"

"You," snarled Albus. "You did!"

"Very well," she told him with a sneer, "you're such a clever boy, aren't you?"

Albus growled in reply.

"Why did you kill him?" asked Scorpius quickly. "Why on earth would you do something like that?"

She looked at Scorpius and shook her head. "That old fool," she hissed, "he thought he could keep secrets from me. From his wife! He thought I would never find out that he was part of the Order. He thought I wouldn't notice his tattoo with the flower. He thought he could keep this wonderful secret from me…"

The tattoo with the flower… just like Professor Sprout! Did that mean that… Professor Sprout was part of the Order too! "Did you kill Professor Sprout as well?" asked Scorpius, eyes wide.

"Of course," she hissed, "she put up quite the fight for being such an old hag, but a drop of Veritaserum and we managed to extort the location of the Golden Orchid. She even brought us right at the entrance of the cave, before I poisoned her. And right when we managed to find a way into the cave, my dear Georgina had to hide her child…"

Scorpius furrowed his brow. "Wait. The entrance?" he asked. "Professor Sprout was found in Scotland."

Mrs Toots laughed again and some other people sneered. "Well," she said disdainfully, "did you think that this was my basement? We've Apparated you to Scotland, you idiot."

"Hey!" snapped Lily. "Don't talk to him like that!"

Scorpius would have preferred for Lily to shut up, really, because he felt as if she was underestimating the danger there. "Lily, it's okay…" he muttered.

"She's feisty," growled Mr Whittle, "Aunt Daisy you should have kept her silent."

"I want to hear her scream if she doesn't manage to get through the wall," replied Mrs Toots lightly.

"What?" asked Albus. "She's not getting through anything, Scorpius and I are, but she's not. You are going to release her before we hex you for good and then send you on a one-way trip to Azkaban."

"Such big words from someone in your situation, Auror…" sneered Mr Whittle.

"Oh, so you really don't know anything, do you?" hissed Mrs Toots. "We need someone pure like a child to get through the wall." She walked closer to Lily and threaded her fingers into her hair before grasping it tightly and forcing her head back. "And you," she hissed to her, "are just the kind of person we're looking for…" She let her go when Lily whimpered. "Of course," she added, "in case you won't work, we'll use your bodyguards here."

"Is that why you need Alfie?" snapped Lily. "To use him to get to the flower?"

"Alas," sighed Mrs Toots overdramatically, "only to get through the first task." She shrugged a shoulder and walked to the bassinet with the silver liquid. "We've tried everything already," she said nonchalantly, "we've tried the unicorn blood. Someone drank it, someone immersed their hands in it… nothing, not even that managed to get them pure enough for the wards."

Scorpius' eyes went to the bassinet. Unicorn blood… sodding hell! That what that was!

"You killed the unicorns!" exclaimed Albus. "You are the unicorn slayers!"

Mrs Toots sneered again. "Oh my! Don't tell me that that was your case as well!" She turned towards Mr Whittle and grinned at him. "Could we've been luckier than this, Pat?"

"I don't think so, Aunt Daisy," replied Mr Whittle. "The two most dim-witted Aurors were investigating on everything we did…"

"And never found out anything…" she agreed. "Au contraire, if they hadn't come and told me about the book that they found at your house we would have never understood that their place was where our dear Georgina had sent her beloved son. A quick research and we found out that they were related to Alfie's irritating teacher and where they lived and then we were so close to get Alfie back…"

Mrs Whittle let out a sob and brought her hands to cover her face.

"You're evil!" snapped Lily. "You're evil people."

"That's why we need you, dear," hissed Mrs Toots, before turning and gesturing towards a corner, "always if you don't end up like Malia and Jason or the other three we used before them."

Scorpius followed her finger and finally noticed the two corpses on the floor. A boy and a girl, glassy eyes wide and mouth open. A rivulet of dried blood colouring the corner of their mouths. The girl's skin was rosier, while the boy looked much greyish, as if he had been dead longer.

Lily let out a cry of despair and brought her hands to her mouth.

"I wonder what secrets they had," muttered Mrs Toots, "so young, and yet so impure… not even the unicorn blood…"

"You should go through that wall," snarled Scorpius.

"The unicorn blood doesn't make one pure," snapped Albus, "if anything, killing a unicorn and drinking its blood makes you even more impure!"

Mr Whittle rolled his eyes, while a murmur raised from the people at his back. "Well, thank you for the lesson," he said impatiently, "we've figured out that much after the fifth casualty."

"Oh too bad you figured that out," snarled Albus, "I would have loved to see you go through that wall."

"Instead you'll see your little sister," snapped Mr Whittle back, "she's going to go through it and then go through the second and third task for us."

"And if I refuse?" growled Lily.

Mr Whittle drew out his wand and his wife gasped as he pointed it at Albus. "I'll let you choose who you want me to kill first," he smirked.

Lily's bottom lip quivered as she looked at Mr Whittle with wide eyes. "I… I…"

"I'll do it," hissed Scorpius. "I'll do it, and if you harm a hair on her head, I swear I—"

"We don't want you," snarled Mrs Toots, "isn't that clear enough? We need her." She eyed Lily hungrily. "So young and beautiful and pure… I hope you are pure darling, pure like a child…"

The words sounded like a threat more than anything. The man behind her released her arms and pushed her forward. Lily stumbled and fell to her hands and knees still too shocked to let out any sound of pain though.

Scorpius tried to wriggle free from the man who was keeping his arms twisted behind his back and he could see a little commotion at his right as well, Albus was probably trying to reach his sister too.

"Lily! No!" cried Scorpius. "Don't do it!"

She looked at him and to Scorpius she seemed outrageously scared. Surely, though, she wasn't scared for herself. No, as always his Lily was thinking that if she failed, if she died, then surely they would have sent Scorpius forward and then Albus and they would have died too, because if she wasn't pure, then they surely weren't as well.

"I'll do it," she said, her voice tiny. "I'll do it, please don't hurt them."

Mrs Toots stretched her hand towards Lily and for a moment she looked like the sweet and pain-stricken old lady that had offered them tea in her living room. "Good choice, dear," she said as she helped Lily to her feet. She patted Lily's hand between hers and smiled at her. "Good choice."

"Lily…" murmured Albus, his voice thick with emotion. "Lily, don't…"

Mrs Toots grasped her hand and guided her forward, but Lily turned to look from Albus to Scorpius. "Do I get to say goodbye?" she asked softly.

"Now, now, none of that, dear," said Mrs Toots guiding her forward, "that would mean that you already think you'll fail. We can't have you thinking that, now can we?"

She swallowed and looked away from Scorpius and in front of her.

Mrs Toots moved behind her and grasped her jacket, opening it and bringing it down her shoulders. "It's hot here dear," she told her, "we wouldn't want you to pass out before you reach the Orchid, would we?"

She shook her head.

Scorpius growled deep in his throat at the way that woman talked to his girlfriend. He wanted to throw himself at them, he wanted to grasp someone's wand and send that woman flying against that wall. He didn't know what would have happened, but surely nothing good judging by the corpses of the youngsters there. The man behind him tightened his grasp around his wrists.

"Now, dear," murmured Mrs Toots, "we've not been close to the wall, but Jason has and he had described it for us right before he was killed. The wall is covered in signs and symbols, you have to find the right one and place your hand on it. That's what you have to do. We've studied the drawings on these walls for weeks and that's all you have to do. Place your tiny, delicate hand on the wall, and the wall will decide if you're pure enough to walk through it."

She turned her head and looked at Scorpius as she moved her lips closer to her ear. "If you aren't," she murmured, "if you aren't pure enough, you'll die dear… The wall will kill you instantly, with a green light, just like the Killing Curse and you'll be no more…"

Even from behind, Scorpius could see Lily's throat move with its swallowing motion. Her hands at her side were trembling slightly. Merlin! He just wanted to reach her and… he just… he just…

Instead, she stepped forward when Mrs Toots pushed her shoulder and hissed a, "Go, now," to her. She stopped suddenly and turned to look at Mrs Whittle before continuing. Scorpius stared as the woman held her breath while she followed Lily with her eyes.

Then Lily took another step, and then another and another, then she was walking steadily towards the wall. A wall that looked like one of those walls covered in graffiti in Knockturn Alley, a wall that had nothing special except the promise to kill his girlfriend as soon as she would have walked close to it.

But no, Lily wouldn't have died. Lily was pure… she was pure… she was nice and gentle and caring and loving and… and… so many other things, surely she couldn't have encountered any obstacles… surely the wall would have let her pass, surely… surely…

She was close now, close to that wall of rock, and Scorpius could see her studying the surface closely. Reading the writings, checking the signs, searching the place where she had to place her hand, where she would have let the wall decide.

The whole crowd of people – even Mrs Toots and Mr Whittle – was silent now. Their eyes were fixed upon Lily, their breaths completely held inside their chests.

Scorpius felt sick. He felt like throwing up. Once again, Lily was going to suffer because of his ineptitude, once again she was the one fighting while he was kept back like a child. A useless, idiotic, stupid—

"It says…" came Lily's voice from the other side of the cave. "It says, _Thou must be as pure as a lily, thou must be candid and unspoilt like a child_…"

"Isn't your name Lily, darling?" asked Mrs Toots excitedly. "See? It's as if a prophecy was written for you. It's your destiny, you're as pure as a lily."

Scorpius felt a shiver running down his spine. He had already heard those words. She was like a lily… she was… she was like a lily… Where had he heard those words? Had he said those words? Where… when…

Scorpius followed her with his eyes while she was keeping her fingers at a distance from the wall and was trying to find the place she was supposed to touch.

Pure as a lily… the words kept echoing in Scorpius' head… pure as a lily… that was a place where a magical flower was kept… flowers had meanings… pure as a lily… what was a lily… a lily… a lily was purity and…

Scorpius' breath caught in his throat.

_A lily was purity and virginity. _

Yes, he remembered now. He had said that to Nott, he had called her as beautiful as a lily and Nott had scoffed at him. And then, he remembered, he was semi-unconscious on the floor of the playroom, fluctuating almost… he remembered Nott talking to Lily's father, telling him that her name was Scarlet, that he had wiped her real name from her, that she was no more pure.

Pure. Pure. _Pure_.

Lily was not pure. She wasn't.

Lily was going to die.

The thought made Scorpius' cold sweat run down his back. He couldn't stay there and stare as her as she walked towards her fate.

He turned his head towards Albus and called him in a frantic whisper, but his eyes were glued to his sister, just like everybody else's. But he had to call him, he had to talk to him, he had to let him know. "Al!" he called him out loud.

Nobody turned to shush him, nobody even noticed. All eyes were trained on Lily, all eyes were staring at her.

Albus turned to look at him, mouth wide and face pale.

Scorpius looked at him and mouthed the words, "Not pure, _brothel_," to him and then stared at him as his skin became almost greenish with the realisation that he was about to witness to his sister's untimely death.

Scorpius wanted to tell him to do something, anything, but he himself didn't know what that would have been. Would they have believed him if he told them that by the age of fifteen the girl standing there had had more sexual encounters than any of the people there? Would they have believed him if he told them that she had been a prostitute? Would they have listened to him if he let them know that she was not pure, that… that he was pure but that she was not and that—

"Bloody hell," he muttered. _He was pure_. He was the one who could have opened that wall.

"I found it," came Lily's shaky voice. "It's… it's a flower… it must be it…"

"Yes, dear, a flower," said Mrs Toots excitedly, "yes, indeed, touch it… _touch_ it!"

Scorpius jerked his head towards Albus again and he was glad to see him still staring at him. "Diversion," he mouthed to him. He looked around himself and added, "I am pure."

Albus sudden confused expression was replaced by one of extreme surprise as if he finally seemed to follow Scorpius' train of thoughts. He nodded and didn't waste any time as he elbowed the man behind him in the ribs and stepped on his foot.

The man cried in surprise and pain and finally people diverted their eyes from Lily. Even the man at Scorpius' back, Scorpius could feel him turn his head to look at the scene and his hands slackened on his arms.

And that was all he needed. He wriggled free and turned to punch him in his face unexpectedly rather than forcefully.

Then, when the man that had kept his hands on Lily tried to grab him again, Scorpius just swirled out of his grasp and threw himself in a frantic run towards the wall.

"Stop him!" snarled Mr Whittle.

There were spells fired against him. He could hear them crash against the floor and the wall, some dangerously close to his head. But he didn't care. If Lily was going to die, there was no reason for him to live either. Albus would have just had to find a way out by himself and report the tragic case of his sister and her boyfriend killed by a group of flower-fanatics.

But for now he just kept running.

Lily was looking at him, her hand only a few inches from the flower she had to touch. Her eyes wide and her lips trembling as he got closer and closer to her.

But he didn't know what to do. He didn't know if he should have screamed at her to get away from that wall and then try to run away with her, but how? They were surrounded, and they didn't have wands, and surely they wouldn't have thought twice about killing Albus.

No. He could only follow their rules. If they wanted to open that damn wall, Scorpius would have done that for them.

"Don't touch it!" he cried to Lily.

She brought her hand down instantaneously and took a step back from the wall, scared.

And then he reached her.

He had just the time to find the flower with his eyes before he was pressing his own hand against it.

Then he grasped Lily in his arms almost spasmodically as he tried to shield her with his body.

Next thing he knew, a white light flashed through the cave and there was a rumble as if of thunder and Scorpius closed his eyes as he squeezed Lily in his arms and prayed that the wall would not consider him impure because of all those times he had spent in the shower thinking about Lily and with his hand around his prick.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Notes:** Alright. Today is my sister's birthday. She can't speak English, she doesn't even know what a fan-fiction is and she hates Harry Potter. That said, I thought I would upload a new chapter as a kind of a present for her (don't you worry, I bought her a real present too!), and for you too, dear readers, since my last chapter ended with quite the cliffy... Ah, this chapter has some suggestive language and references to _Scarlet_ as well as the appearance of an old acquaintance from that story... Enjoy!

Next chapter will be up on Wednesday, don't you worry!

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

Despite the throbbing headache, Scorpius didn't mind being brought back to his senses by a shower of kisses and Lily's soft hands on his face. "I love you," she was whispering gently to him, "I love you, I love you. You saved me, you are my knight. You're my handsome knight…"

"Hmm," he hummed contently, "keep going…"

She giggled softly, but despite she kept whispering sweet things to him and placing kisses all over his cheeks and forehead and on his lips and chin, Scorpius was slowly thrown back to the harsh reality of their situation.

He pushed his hands on the floor and sat up from the cold floor, his head finally leaving Lily's lap. "What happened?" he asked, rubbing his temples. When in the end he opened his eyes he saw that they were in a small, square room, bare and barely lit by a faint light coming from somewhere behind them.

"You saved me," repeated Lily, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

He smiled into her hair and hugged her back. "Finally, I could save you and not the other way round for once…" he whispered to her.

"Oh Scorpius," she murmured, "shut up. You are my knight." She tilted her head back and looked seriously at him. "How did you know?"

"How did I know what?" he asked her softly, pulling a lock of red hair from her eyes.

"That you were the one who could touch the wall and not me."

He took a deep breath as he looked at her seriously. "Oh Lily," he told her softly, "I… I just…"

"Is it because I was a prostitute?" she whispered. "Is it because I am not a virgin?"

The words hurt him and he found that he couldn't respond with his voice, he gave her a jerky nod instead and pulled her to him once more.

She took a deep breath and nodded as well, softly and calmly though. "Thank you," she told him.

"I love you," he replied. "And if any of your cousins blabber something about me having a problem with being a virgin once again," he added softly, "I'm going to use a Hair Loss Curse on them…"

Lily's giggle made him feel instantaneously better and for a moment he forgot that they were in a dark cave with people threatening to murder them and Albus, and with snares that were probably going to kill them anyway.

For a moment she was all that mattered and the fact that she was pressing her shaky body against him and that he was kissing her hair and forehead and he was breathing in her smell that was so familiar and so sweet.

"Lily," he finally asked, "what happened? I think… I think I blacked out a little…"

"You did," she told him truthfully, "I didn't only because you shielded me." She smiled and continued, "There was a bright light coming from the wall, then the cave started to tremble and the wall just disappeared and we fell through it and in here. Then the wall appeared again at our backs. And… we're stuck in here and I don't even know if Al is alright…"

"I'm sure he is," he told her softly. "We went through the wall, that's what they wanted, they surely haven't harmed him." He wasn't sure, and the thought that something might have happened to him made him sick, but now all they had to focus on was the Golden Orchid and whatever other tasks they had to go through before reaching it.

She released him and he tried to push himself up to a standing position. Lily helped him and when he was on his feet he leaned a bit against her to steady himself.

Bloody hell, it was hot there! Lily had already discarded her jumper to the floor, but her shirt was stuck to her chest and he could see her skin covered in a thin layer of perspiration.

"It's getting warmer and warmer," he muttered, unfastening his cloak and unbuttoning the first few buttons of his uniform.

"It is," she replied, fanning her neck. She let his arm go and grasped her thick locks on her shoulders, pushing them up over her head. "I'm all sweaty," she murmured, flushing even more.

"Me too," he replied, "don't worry." He walked behind her and blew over the nape of her neck and she hummed in pleasure.

"Thank you, Scorpius," she told him. "Why do you think it's so warm?"

He shook his head. "Probably because we're in the depths of the earth," he suggested. "But I'm no expert."

She let her hair fall back down on her back and turned to look at him. "What do you think awaits us now?" she asked softly. "Do you think that I… that I won't be able to…"

"You stay close to me," he told her seriously, "and I'll take care of you. Nothing will happen to you, I'd rather die than let anything happen to you." He took a deep breath and noticed that it was becoming more and more difficult to breathe that hot air. "What did the book say about the second task?"

"_Second, light. Only who has a light heart and no shadows nor secrets will be able to continue in their quest,_" recited Lily by heart. "I don't… I don't have secrets, I swear."

Scorpius nodded. He was sure she didn't. He wasn't so sure about himself this time though. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked seriously at her. "Lily," he said, "if I don't make it—"

"No, no," she cut him off, "don't say it, don't say it. We'll make it together."

"But if I don't make it—"

"No!" She pressed her lips to his, effectively shutting him up this time. "If you don't make it," she murmured against his mouth, "I'll kill myself."

He tilted his head back, looking at her in disbelief. "Now, don't be ridiculous," he grunted.

"I'm not," she replied, "you are my knight, the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with, the only person that I love from my very guts. I need you, Scorpius, without you, I'm nothing."

Scorpius smiled at her. "Same," he whispered. "So we better survive and don't lose sight of each other until we find that damn flower, okay?"

She nodded, stood on tiptoes and kissed him again, before enlacing her fingers into his and starting to walk towards the source of the light. "Let's go," she encouraged him.

"Yes," he agreed.

He finally took a good look at the place, the light was not coming from somewhere in the room itself. No, the light was coming from a an opening. It was a little doorframe without an actual door and it apparently led to a small corridor. Scorpius was already starting to complain for how long they would have had to walk in that heat, when they suddenly stepped through another opening and found themselves in a much bigger and much darker room.

There was only one light in the room, Scorpius couldn't tell from where it came exactly, but he could see perfectly well what it lit up. He grasped Lily's hand more forcefully and pulled her to him as they stopped to look at the only object that there was there.

A mirror.

It was a tall, polished mirror, with a dark, iron frame covered in symbols and runic writings. There were beautiful flowers engraved all around it and spikes and, were those skulls?

The mirror was placed right in the middle of the room, kept upright by some magic. Scorpius stretched his neck to look behind it and saw another passage. That was it, surely if they just walked around it – maybe without even looking at it – surely they would find the Orchid or the third task right behind that passage on the other side of the room. Surely—

"Lily!" he whispered harshly as he felt her tugging at his arm. "What are you doing?"

She turned to look at him. Her brown eyes were wide with wonder and her lips vaguely curved in a soft smile. "Let's go and see it," she told him excitedly. "It's calling us!"

"What?" he exclaimed. "What do you mean? It's not… it's not…" But his words died in his throat. There was a murmur reaching his ears, something soft and delicate like the flutter of the wings of a fairy. Scorpius had to hold his breath and try to slow down the furious beating of his heart to hear it, but it was calling him… it was his name that it was saying…

He took a step and then another and another, following Lily closer to the mirror, until they were both standing in front of it.

"It's beautiful," murmured Lily, letting his hand go to brush her fingers against the frame. "Isn't it?"

Scorpius didn't reply, instead he raised his eyes to the runes over his head and furrowed his brow. "What does it say?" he asked. "I don't… I never took Ancient Runes…"

"_The Mirror of Shadow and Light_," she read out loud for him, "oh Scorpius, it's beautiful. Look at us."

Scorpius finally lowered his eyes on his reflection. He didn't look anything near beautiful in it. He was covered in sweat and pale and his eyes… his eyes were almost red with tiredness… and the redness not only spread through his sclera but his irises as well… they looked so red, so weird… almost evil… Yes, he looked evil in that reflection, he furrowed his brow and got closer to the mirror. That was weird, and quite uncomfortable, he was pretty sure that he didn't look like that in real life, he was pretty sure that he looked much… much nicer than that… he looked much more… much more…

"Lily," he whispered, "Lily don't look at the mirror, it's… it's weird…"

She didn't reply and somehow he felt that he himself could not look away from his reflection.

"Lily!" he called her again.

Again she didn't reply. He furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth or, at least, he was sure he was doing that, but his reflection just smirked back at him.

He used all his willpower to turn his head and look at Lily, but when he did, he found out that she was not there anymore.

oooOOOooo

The mirror scared her and Lily didn't know why Scorpius had looked so excited about it. The mirror was tall and menacing and Lily didn't like the way her reflection stared back at her, as if she knew everything about her and as if she could see into the bottom of her heart.

"Scorpius," she called him, her voice tiny. He didn't reply to her and she tried to stretch her hand to grasp his into her fingers once more.

Her digits closed around thin air though.

"Scorpius?" she said again, a little whimper leaving her lips as she called him and obtained no answer.

She swallowed out loud, there was complete silence around her now, and her eyes could barely leave those of her reflection. Reflection… but was that really her? How could she be like that? The girl in front of her looked… evil… and she was not evil, she had just told Scorpius that she had no secrets, she really believed that… and now… was that mirror going to change all that? Did she have any secrets? She must have had some, otherwise why did her reflection scared her that much?

She swallowed again and the girl in front of her smirked evilly at her. Lily brought a hand to her face, she wasn't… she wasn't smirking. She took a step back, wanting more than anything to manage to tear her eyes from the girl in the mirror.

She felt her heart beating furiously in her chest. Where was Scorpius? Why had he left her there? How could he do that? He had told her that he loved her and that he would protect her and… and he was her knight… and…

_Why are you afraid?_

She opened her eyes wide, and took another step back. It was still boiling hot in there, but all she could feel now was the cold sweat running down her back.

_Scarlet, you're not being polite… what do you do when you're asked a question?_

"No!" she cried, brining her hands to her ears. "Don't call me that! That's not my name!" She shut her eyes tightly and crouched on the floor. That was not real, no, no, no…

That was not her name… that was not her…

_Of course it's you, you silly little girl! Look at you! Look at your dress! All the whores of the brothel are dressed like that…_

Her breath hitched as she cracked one eye open to look down at her. She let out a cry of fear and fell backwards on the naked floor. She was wearing the dress that Nott had made her wear for six years, the long white dress with a crimson ribbon under her breasts.

"No, no, no," she cried, trying to tear the dress, "no! I'm not… I'm not…"

_Yes, you are, aren't you? A little whore… Daddy's little strumpet… you miss the way your Father took you from behind. You miss the clients who made you feel like the scum you are_…

She raised her eyes on her reflection once again, only it was not her reflection anymore. Lily was sitting on the floor, and the girl there was standing and looking down at her with a mad glint in her eyes. She was wearing Lily's same exact dress and was barefoot, just like Lily was now. And she had a heavy bracelet around her ankle…

"No!" cried Lily, raising her leg to look at her ankle. The same ankle bracelet was there. The one that had caused her infinite pain, the one that had stopped her fleeing five years ago.

"No," she whined, "no, that's not possible. No, stop it! Stop it!"

Her reflection offered her a mocking smile.

_You can't stop it. Only someone with a light heart and no shadows or secrets can stop this, but you, my dear, you don't have a light heart. You are full of darkness. A prostitute… that's what you are… that's what you'll always be…_

There was a bright light coming from the mirror and for a moment Lily had to close her eyes and shield her face. The ground shook under her and she tried to scream, but no sound left her lips.

She covered her ears and curled herself up in a ball, waiting for the moment to pass. Waiting for the light to fade and the rumble to cease.

And when it did, she felt her insides twist in her stomach.

"_Hello, baby girl_," said a low, familiar voice, "_did you miss me?_"

oooOOOooo

"Lily!" cried Scorpius, looking around himself furiously. "Lily! Where are you?" Merlin, that girl! Always running away, always getting herself into trouble… and he never… he never managed to…

…_never manage to save her. Never manage to be her knight in shining armour, never manage to kick someone's arse for her, never manage to save her when she was raped in front of your eyes—I'm sorry, shall I go on?_

Scorpius jerked his head around himself. "Who are you?" he cried. "Show yourself!"

_Well, if you want to see me, you have to go back in front of the mirror, Scorpius…_

He turned slowly towards the mirror, eyebrows knitting on his forehead and a desire to have his wand with him burning inside him and making his fingers tingle.

He locked eyes with his reflection. "Who are you?" he asked nervously.

_I'm you._

"No, you're not," snapped Scorpius, "I'm not… I'm not like you." No, now his reflection looked younger than himself. He almost looked like a child, he looked scared to even look back at Scorpius. He was shaking slightly. "You're so small," he murmured.

_I know. Small, and vulnerable, and useless…_

"How dare you?" he hissed. "I'm not useless. I… I've just saved Lily's life!"

_Please, she should have been asleep and instead she slipped out of the house in the middle of the night… and you, an Auror, an Auror trained by her father, didn't even notice that she was gone. But you got yourself Stunned with her and then stared as she was pushed forward and towards her death… of course, you took her place… but only because you are a virgin. At 23. Pathetic. You're pathetic. Your girlfriend is a prostitute and you just hold her at night. Both times she asked you to fuck her and you just pushed her back… pathetic… you're pathetic, pathetic, pathetic…_

"No!" cried Scorpius. He threw himself at the mirror, but the moment his hands touched the polished surface he was engulfed by a blinding light that sent him to the floor and everything turned black.

oooOOOooo

Lily scrambled to her feet the moment she heard the voice at her back. She glanced at the mirror, but there was no reflection now staring back at her. Nothing. The mirror was empty.

She didn't feel good about it, but when she turned and her eyes met those of Theodore Nott she felt even worse.

"No," she muttered, stepping back. "No, you… you are in Azkaban. You can't be here…"

"_I'm here_," replied the tall, bulky man. He was wearing black trousers and a white shirt and the evillest glint in his eyes. "_I'm always here, baby girl_."

She shook her head. "Scorpius!" she cried. "Scorpius!" Where was he? Why did he disappear like that? How could he leave her?

"_Oh, he's gone_," said Nott, taking a step towards her. "_Gone, of course he's gone. Do you think he would stay forever with you? Come on, Scarlet… he is a knight, isn't he? A Slytherin Prince, the heir of an immense fortune. Do you think he would seriously consider spending the rest of his life with a whore?_"

"I'm not Scarlet!" snarled Lily. "I'm not! Stop it! You are not here!"

He ignored her. He ignored her like he always did. "_Isn't that why you're so clingy with him? Always asking him to stay and sleep with you, and then… you don't even let him smell your cunt._" He chuckled and continued, "_Is it because it smells of the come of a thousand men? Is it because you know that he is aware that you've spread your pretty little legs for a different man every night at the brothel?_"

"No!" she cried again. She took a sharp breath and almost choked on the tears that she didn't even know she was shedding. "Stop it! He loves me! Scorpius… Scorpius loves me…"

"_Oh my dear baby, that's what you think?_" he asked mockingly. "_He just wants to fuck you raw. At least once, I mean… come on! That's not the way I brought you up. Remember our steamy nights at the brothel? How much did you like to have my cock up your arse?_"

Lily let out a cry of frustration. "I hated it! I hate you!" she snarled.

"_That's how you repay me? I'm hurt, Scarlet_," whispered Nott, bringing a hand to his heart. "_You are a first class prostitute and he is rich… put two and two together, will you? Merlin, you're dumb, just like your parents_." He sneered. "_He just wants to fuck you, no strings attached, and then finally be on his way to find himself a nice, respectable wife. Oh my! Please baby, don't tell me that you expected him to actually marry you! To actually spend the rest of his life with you…_"

Lily's heart was racing in her chest. Yes, that was what she wanted. Yes, that was what she thought it would happen. Yes, that was what she knew it would happen. "He loves me," she repeated, but her voice was much thinner than before. "Scorpius loves me."

"_Oh dear Merlin_," sighed Nott, "_I should spell it out for you, right? Remember our last day together?_" He pointed at his chest and she stared as his shirt covered in blood. Then there was a ripping sound and a blinding pain on her back that made her gasp for air. She tried to turn her head over her shoulder and look, and all she could see was her back slashed open to the bone. Her dress was gone and she stood there naked for a fistful of seconds before falling to her knees and covering her breasts and between her legs with her hands.

"_That was fun, right?_" he asked her. "_Oh look at you, getting all shy for me. I love it when you're all shy and pretend to be the nice little girl that you are not. You make me so hard so fast._"

She looked at him, lips parted with difficult breathing, eyes slowly going out of focus. She fell forward and bit her bottom lip the moment she felt something falling from between her buttocks and down to the floor.

"_Anyway_," murmured Nott, walking closer to her. "_Did you notice how hard you made him that day? Seeing you being taken from behind like the animal you are… seeing you cry and being whipped good. I'm sure that all he wanted was to get behind you and force himself into you… just like I did…_"

He knelt next to her face and threaded his fingers into her hair, tilting her head up and back. It hurt her, it hurt her back and her neck. She wanted to scream, to tell him that he was lying, that Scorpius loved her… he… he loved her… she knew… because… because…

Because he always stayed with her… even… even though she was always the one to ask him… did he ever suggest he wanted to stay? Did he ever? Lily couldn't remember… but… but…

But Scorpius told her that he loved her… yes he did… he did… or… did she do that? Maybe he didn't… did he ever…?

But it didn't matter because he… because he… he…

"_He doesn't care about you, does he?_" asked Nott softly, his disgusting breath washing over her face. His smell reviving all sorts of unwanted memories. "_He's gone. He probably wants the Golden Orchid for himself, that's what he wants. He doesn't care about you, you're just a slut. Who wants the company of a slut, Scarlet? Only people who want to fuck her until she doesn't remember her name._" He licked her cheek, she wanted to swat at him, but she couldn't move her arms. "_What's your name baby girl?_" he whispered. "_Tell Father what's your name, dear…_"

She swallowed, the acre smell of the blood filling her nostrils. "I…"

"_Yes?_"

"My name… my name's…"

"_Yes, darling_…"

"Sc-Scarlet…" she finally breathed out.

She could recognise the smirk in his voice. "_And what are you?_" he hissed.

"A… a whore…"

"_And can a nice prince like Scorpius love a whore?_"

Her eyesight blurred with fresh tears as she leaned her cheek back on the floor. "No," she whispered.

"_Good girl_," he told her, "_good girl_…"

oooOOOooo

Scorpius gasped as soon as the light disappeared.

In front of him, sitting on the floor and looking terribly close to tears, there was a little, blond boy. His scrawny knees up to his chest, his cheeks leaning against them. He was trembling slightly and sniffling loudly.

Scorpius hurried at his side. "Hey," he said, kneeling next to him, "are you okay? Why are you crying?"

The boy raised his head from his knees and looked at Scorpius with his big, grey eyes.

Scorpius gasped as he fell back and moved away, putting some distance between himself and the child. "You… you…"

The child looked at him and nodded. "_I'm you_," he told him. He sniffled out loud and brushed away the tears. "_I'm scared, just like you…_"

"I'm not scared," muttered Scorpius, but the tightening in his stomach definitely wasn't excitement. He was there alone, Lily had disappeared and he had no clue where she could have gone.

"_You are scared_," his younger self accused him, "_you are always scared, aren't you? Always scared not to be good enough for her. And you are right… you know… you're not worthy of her…_"

Scorpius swallowed. "Shut up," he told him grimly. "You don't know anything, just shut up." He looked away from him. He had to ignore him – it. That thing that surely wasn't real and it certainly wasn't himself. It must have come from the mirror, yes, because now that it looked at the mirror, he noticed that it was all dark. That there was no reflection in it anymore.

Now, he had to find a way to Lily. Where was she? He always lost her. Always. Why couldn't she stay still? Or why couldn't he keep a proper eye on her?

"_That's a good question, you know_," said the child at his back.

"Stop following me!" snarled Scorpius, walking briskly around the mirror.

"_I really mean it_," said the child thoughtfully, stepping in front of him, "_why can't you keep a proper eye on her? I know the answer, do you?_"

Scorpius pushed him away, trying to walk past him, but the child kept up with him.

"_It's_ _because she doesn't need you_," the boy told him, "_she's much better off without you. She is too polite to tell you, you know, she still feels like she has to make you happy because you were the one who were nice enough with her in the brothel, but… that's all, you know… she doesn't need you, no matter what she says to you…_"

"Shut up," growled Scorpius. "You don't know anything."

The boy laughed softly. "_I know everything,_" he piped instead, "_I'm you, remember? And I know that you know, I know that you feel useless around her. She is too good for you, you know… she's the one who saved your life with Nott, she's the one who saved Alfie, she's the one who agreed to be pushed to the wall to save you and her brother. She's the one everybody loves… and do you think you deserve her love?_"

Scorpius glared at the little boy, but somehow he lacked the resolve that he had had before. That child… no, that _thing_ was listing out loud all the fears and doubts that he had piled inside of him ever since he had gone to see Lily right after her rescuing. And somehow, hearing them being put in words was even more painful than keeping them inside.

"I… I love her," snapped Scorpius, gnawing at his bottom lip, "and she loves me, that's… that's all that matters!"

The boy chuckled. "_Really? You really think that she loves you? That's really romantic_," he laughed, "_are you sure, though? Isn't it weird that someone as beautiful and as gentle as she is would spend her life with someone like you? You are the scum son of a Death Eater… your father bought you two hours with her when you were just seventeen. And you were not even man enough to fuck her_…" The boy sighed dramatically. "_She needs a real man, not someone who is just a boy…_"

"That's some big talk from a child!" grunted Scorpius.

The boy laughed again. He seemed to find Scorpius particularly hilarious. "_I'm you_," he repeated. "_You can look at yourself in a mirror and see your tall and muscled body, but deep inside… this is how you look. Deep inside, you are just a little boy, you still live with your parents, you are scared of everything_…"

"Shut up!" snarled Scorpius. "Lily! Lily!" He was crestfallen to hear his voice so thick with fear and dejection. Where was she? Why wasn't she answering?

"_Maybe she's already reached the Orchid_," murmured the child, "_maybe she's already taken the petal and now that she remembers everything, you're not special anymore now_… _now she remembers who she is_…"

Scorpius threw himself at the child, but the little boy disappeared in front of him. "Shut up! She loves me! Do you hear me? She loves me!" he screamed, hitting his fist on the ground.

"_Does she?_" he whispered in his ear. "_No she doesn't_." The boy appeared in front of him once again. "_You're nothing for her_."

"Shut up!" cried Scorpius for the umpteenth time. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, his knees hurting against the hard floor. "Shut up… you don't know… you don't know anything…"

"_I know everything_," hissed the child, "_she knows that you don't deserve her… that you're just scum… she's perfection how can she be with someone like you?_"

"I…I…" He was panting now, his heart beating furiously in his chest. The words of the child cut through his heart like knives. Lily was perfection, that was what he had thought the first time he had seen her in that room at the brothel, he just had thought that she was a princess. And he wasn't a prince. He was just… he was useless…

"_Yes, you are useless… you're going to die here, in this cave so close to the Orchid and yet so far… and Albus is going to die too and Lily as well, just because you don't have the spine to keep going, because you're pathetic, Scorpius, you've always been pathetic, you are nothing, you're_—"

"What did you say?" Scorpius eyes opened wide as he jerked his head towards the child. "What did you say?" he snarled.

The child looked at him and smirked once more. "_That you're pathetic, that you are_—"

"No, not that," snapped Scorpius. "Lily and Albus, what… what did you say?"

The child sneered, "_They are going to die because of you_."

Scorpius lowered his eyes, the blood pumping in his temples almost deafening him. Lily and Albus were going to die if… they were going to die if he didn't do anything. Yes, if… if he stayed there and listened to _himself_ saying all those things… all his fears, all those lies.

"No," he gritted through his teeth.

"_What?_" asked the child, getting closer to him. "_What are you saying?_"

"I said no," snarled Scorpius, raising his eyes. "Lily is not going to die because of me! Go away!"

"_You_ _can't send me away, I'm always with you_…"

"We'll see about that," hissed Scorpius. He pushed his hands on the floor and stood up. He turned towards the object that had started everything and took a deep breath as he threw himself towards it with all his forces.

"_No!_" cried the child, but already his voice was feeble and far away and Scorpius didn't listen to it.

Scorpius was Lily's knight. Scorpius had saved her and he would save her every day if that was what it took for them to be together. He loved her and she loved him and that was the only thing that he was sure about.

"That's for Lily!" he screamed as he hurled himself against the dark surface of the mirror.

Instead of sending it crashing to the floor as he had expected, though, the mirror disappeared and Scorpius went flying through the frame, his body was enveloped by light and soon he was falling and falling, his arms and legs flailing like wings.

He screamed and closed his eyes and it was only when he was slammed to the ground once more that he let out a moan of pain. "Bloody hell," he muttered, rolling on the floor and massaging his arm.

He took a deep breath and waited for the child to tell him something, but the only thing that reached his ears was the soft crying of a girl near him.

He pushed himself off the floor and his breath caught in his throat as he stared at Lily, lying prone on floor and crying without being able to see him.

"Merlin," he muttered as he stood up and hurried at her side. "Lily," he called her, kneeling next to her and making her roll on the floor until she was propped on his thighs. "Lily, sweetheart… Lily, darling, can you hear me?"

She stretched a hand to his face and cupped his cheek feebly. "Scorpius…" she whispered.

"Yes," he encouraged her, "yes, yes, love, it's me."

She let her arm fall again to the floor. "I'm sorry, Scorpius," she murmured, "I'm sorry…"

"Sorry?" he asked her, pulling her to his chest. "No, no, sorry for what? Lily, come on… we have to go."

"I'm just a whore," she murmured, "you are a prince, I'm just a whore. Princes don't fall in love with whores."

He looked at her horrified. _That_ was the shadow in her heart. _That_ was what she secretly thought. He cradled her in his arms and leaned his cheek against her cold forehead. She was freezing, how could she? It was bloody hot there. "Lily, no. Lily, listen to me, it's not real, my love, it's not real, okay?"

"I don't deserve you…"

Scorpius kissed her forehead. "You're right," he murmured, "you deserve so much more than me, but you're stuck with me because I love you. Do you understand me? And I'm no prince, Lily, if I were a prince I would have already made your brother the court jester and would have thrown tomatoes at him every evening after dinner."

She opened her mouth to reply to him, but he didn't let her.

"Let's go," he said, sliding an arm under her knees and another under her back.

She winced as if he was hurting her, but somehow he knew that it was all in her head, just like the child had been in his head. He stood up and turned towards the mirror.

"I love you," he told her again as he pressed her against the mirror.

She opened her eyes wide and her lips parted as if she wanted to scream, but so sound issued forth. Her chest heaved with big gulps of air and her hands convulsed on his chest, until she let out a soft gasp of air and finally grasped his arms.

"Scorpius!" she cried. "Scorpius!"

"I'm here, I'm here."

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly as he fell down to his knees. "Scorpius!" she cried again. "Oh my, it was… it was so real… Nott… Nott was there… Oh, did you see him? Did you?"

He took a deep breath and dived his face into her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. "No, I didn't see him," he whispered.

"I saw him," she told him, pushing herself with force against him as if to find comfort in his proximity, "I saw him. He said that I'm just a slut, he said that you only want to be with me because you wanted to have sex with me and then leave me… oh! Scorpius! It was so horrible! I believed him, I believed everything he said!"

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry, Lily."

"Why didn't you see him? Why did I see him? Why?" she tilted her head back and looked into his eyes with her own brown ones.

He wanted to lie to her, but he couldn't. "The mirror shows the shadows in your heart," he told her softly, "your fears. The ones we don't even know that we have. He was not real, Lily. It was all in your head."

She took a sharp breath and looked away, eyes wide and cheeks flushing in shame. "My fears?" she murmured.

He cupped her cheeks and made her turn towards him. "Yes, your fears," he repeated, "and you'll be delighted to know that your secret fears and my secret fears match perfectly well…"

She looked at him. "What?"

"I'm scared that I don't deserve you, that I'm not strong enough to protect you and save you," he admitted, his own cheeks colouring.

She shook her head as much as she could with his hands cupping her cheeks. "Those are stupid fears," she muttered.

"And yours aren't?" he chuckled. "I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you in that room. I couldn't see myself with anybody else, I don't want anything but to spend every single moment of my life with you. That's all I want." He kissed her nose. "And you're not a prostitute, okay? You are perfect… you…" His voice trailed away as he took a deep breath. That was not the way he had envisioned himself doing it, but he couldn't see himself doing it in any other way at that moment. "I love you, Lily. I want to marry you."

She sighed. "I want to marry you too, Scorpius, but sometimes I feel like I can never be the—"

"No," he cut her off, "I really want to marry you, like I have the ring and everything. Your parents gave me their blessing, even your mother and I… I was just waiting for the right moment to ask you, I wanted to make it unforgettable, maybe take you up on the roof of Grimmauld Place, and—"

She cut him off with her lips against his. She threw her arms around his neck with such force that Scorpius fell backwards. "Yes," she murmured frantically against his mouth, "yes, yes, yes! I'll marry you! Yes!" She kissed him and kissed him and kissed him until she was almost smothering him with her kisses. But if he had to die, he wouldn't have wanted to go in any other way.

He hugged her tightly and rolled until she was on top of him, and she just kept kissing him as if there was no tomorrow. As if they weren't in a bloody hot cave covered in sweat and all smelly by now. She kissed him as if her life depended on it, her lips were soft and her tongue was languid against his own.

Then, as suddenly as she had started, she stopped. She propped herself up on an elbow and looked down thoughtfully at him.

"What?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"I was thinking," she said all serious, "can we have a wedding at the beach, just like Teddy and Victoire? Like near Shell Cottage? Do you remember it? I think I'd like that. Wouldn't you like it? Or maybe your mother expects us to have the ceremony at the Manor? Isn't that tradition for a Malfoy? Do you think I should wear my mother's wedding dress? I—ooh!"

He pulled her to him once again and kissed her to silence. "You can have everything you want," he whispered against her lips.

She smiled at him and then she kissed him again and for a moment everything was forgotten except for each other.

oooOOOooo

Albus shifted from a foot to the other as he wriggled his wrists in the tight confines of the spell. "I need to pee," he proclaimed to the group of people around him.

Mrs Toots shot him a glare. "I've already told you to shut up," she snarled. "Do you understand me?"

He straightened his back and tried to look menacing, but he only managed to wince at the pain in his ribs for the beating he had received right after he had created the diversion for Scorpius. "Well, shall I pee here?"

"You should hold it," snapped Mr Whittle. "Otherwise we'll hex your feet to walk you to the wall."

Albus cocked an eyebrow at him. "Which would be unfortunate, because I've had more sex than one of those wizards on Playwitch, you know…"

Mrs Toots pinched the bridge of her nose. "Shut up," she hissed, "shut up, shut up, shut up. You've talked for the past two hours, if you keep that going I'm going to kill you with my own hands."

"Well, waiting is boring, isn't it?" he huffed. "If at least we could talk a little… You could tell me what you'd like to do with the Golden Orchid for example…"

Mr Whittle walked to him and lowered his head to look into his eyes. "You want to talk?" he hissed.

"Pat…"

"Shut it, Georgina!" he snarled at his wife, before turning towards Albus.

"Hey! Don't talk to her like that!" snapped Albus.

The man didn't even reply. He just raised his hand and punched Albus right on the nose. The pain started from between Albus' eyes as he fell to the ground and coughed the blood that was flowing into his mouth.

"There," hissed Mr Whittle. "Now you're not going to talk that much anymore, are you?"

Mrs Whittle sobbed at the scene and Albus tried to smile to her, but then everything went dark and he just leaned his cheek against the stones of the floor to find some comfort to his abused face.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I'd say the second proposal went way better than the first, didn't it? ;)


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Notes: **Thank you for your lovely reviews!

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

Lily was still kissing Scorpius when he sighed out loud.

"What?" she asked softly, moving her lips on his cheek, and then his chin, and then his jaw, and pecking his skin softly.

"We've got to go," he murmured against her forehead. "Albus…"

She let out a sigh as well. He was right. Albus was still with those horrible people, and they were all waiting for them to bring back the Orchid as if the two of them were slaves doing all the dirty job for them. "Do you think," she murmured, "do you think he's… I mean they didn't…"

"Of course he's alive and well," Scorpius reassured her, "otherwise they know that we'll never give them the flower."

She nodded. "You're right," she replied. "I just hope that he's alright…"

"He's a tough guy," he told her gently, "as long as he doesn't keep on talking as he usually does, and doesn't piss anybody off, he's going to be alright."

Lily nodded again as she stood up and glanced at the mirror with diffidence, before walking around it. On the other side of the room there was a passage. A small passage that they hadn't even seen before, too entranced as they were in that horrible, horrible device. She stood and looked at the light that was coming from that place, she was pretty sure that the only glow before had been the one that lightened the mirror, but now, that other light was gone and the brightness was coming only from the other room, as if someone was showing them the way. Maybe the Golden Orchid itself. Maybe they were worthy enough to find it. They had proved themselves after all and now there was only one task left.

_The third and final virtue examined is nobility. Only those who are free from covetousness will truly understand that the flower cannot be owned, for whoever dares to take the flower for their own vile purposes will be punished accordingly._

Scorpius came to stand next to her, his arm wrapping tightly around her shoulders. "Are you ready?" he asked her, looking in front of him.

She nodded firmly. "When I'm with you I'm always ready," she told him.

Unexpectedly, he chuckled at her words.

"What?" she asked slightly offended.

He shook his head. "I was thinking that if Al was here, he would be gagging at how corny we are."

She laughed too. "You are right," she replied. "We need to find him a girlfriend."

"Or at least a date for the wedding," pointed out Scorpius. "But that's a miracle for the Golden Orchid, I guess."

Lily punched him playfully. "Scorpius!"

"What?" he asked, rubbing his arm. "He's not as bad as James, but you've to admit that he is not exactly good with girls. He just snogs them and then forgets their names."

Lily shrugged a shoulder. That was true. Albus had turned to her for help remembering his girlfriends' names more than once. "We'll see if the Orchid can be used to make him more… charming…"

Scorpius laughed heartily. "Sweet," he said, "let's go now. The sooner we get our hands on that flower the sooner we'll get out of here."

The light became brighter as they started to walk towards the passage. It was a warm glow that seemed to come from a hundred lamps and torches. "It's so eerie," she murmured almost to herself, "there was no light before, and now…"

"Now it's as if we're going to walk straight into the sun," Scorpius murmured back, "it's just as hot too…"

She nodded at his words. She could feel her shirt stick to her back now, she actually considered taking off her clothes, just to avoid fainting, and she would do just that if there wasn't a horde of people waiting for them to come out with the flower.

And inside the following room it was even hotter, except none of them seemed to care anymore as that section of the cave came into view.

It was a sight to behold.

There were ampoules and vases and jars and phials and glasses, and they were all gold, or so they looked in the bright light. They were placed on high and low shelves that were scattered all around the room and against the white walls. They were filled with what looked like potion ingredients: Nettles, Dittany, Eel Eyes, Fairy Wings, Dragon Horns, Horse Hair, Gillyweed and so on and so forth.

Lily stared at a big jar filled with rat tails and then cast her glance upon a vase where spiders were trying to reach the top with her long, hairy legs without managing.

Suddenly Scorpius grabbed her upper arm and made her turn towards him. "What?" she asked softly.

He didn't look at her, but nodded in front of him and she turned to look ahead as well.

And there it was. It was sprouting out from the dark soil in a golden flower pot and it was more beautiful than Lily could have ever imagined. More beautiful than the pictures she had seen in the book, more beautiful than anything she had ever seen.

Now Lily understood why the Order had to hide that flower to preserve it. The Golden Orchid was bigger than any other orchid she had ever seen, but its most breathtaking quality was the colour. It looked like the flower was made of gold. And yes, of course she should have expected that considering the name, but she had thought that the flower would have only been gold in colour. And it was really. Lily just couldn't explain it, but now that she looked closely at it, she saw that the Golden Orchid looked as if it was actually made of gold.

And it looked like most of the light radiated straight from it.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

Scorpius nodded. "Let's go and get it," he murmured, stepping forward and dragging her with him.

She followed him through the shelves, eyes wide and trained on the flower. She found that it was impossible to look away from it. It was like the light at the end of a tunnel that people were drawn to.

They climbed up the few steps that brought to the flower pot. Scorpius' fingers were enlaced tightly in her own, both of them afraid to lose the other just like it had happened before.

She squeezed his hand in hers when he stretched his arm to wrap his fingers around the pot. "Scorpius," she finally breathed.

"What?" he asked, without looking at her. It was all right, she wasn't looking at him either.

"The third task," she murmured.

"What about it?"

"We didn't pass it… we didn't even encounter it…"

He swallowed and withdrew his hand. "Maybe, maybe we don't have to," he told her, "maybe we've proven ourselves enough already…" He stretched his hand again, his fingers almost brushing the pot, Lily could see the muscles of his hand strain with the tension.

But before he could wrap his hand around it, Scorpius let out a small gasp of surprise as he was yanked off the floor and hung upside down in midair.

"Scorpius!" gasped out Lily, grabbing his wrist with both hands and trying to pull him down.

"Bloody hell," he muttered as he looked at her from the ceiling.

"Thieves will be punished for their insolence," squealed a voice near the Orchid, "nobody steals the Golden Orchid when Gurdyroot is guarding it!"

Lily turned to look at the source of the voice and found herself face to face with a little house-elf, he had a round nose and big brown eyes and he was wearing a little flowery tea towel as a dress. "Oh," she let out as she took in the fact that very probably that was their last task: a house-elf.

Gurdyroot looked back at her with as much surprise, before bowing until his potato-shaped nose almost touched the ground. "Oh Milady," he mumbled, "Milady is beautiful and doesn't look like a thief at all."

Lily giggled as she let Scorpius' hand go and knelt at eye-level with the elf. "Thank you, Mister Gurdyroot," she said gently, "you're a most charming house-elf yourself."

The elf raised his face and looked at Lily with a big smile tugging at his lips, before he raised his eyes towards Scorpius. "Now, that man up there, he is certainly a thief, Milady, because he is ugly like a Bubotuber."

"Hey!" snapped Scorpius. "Don't you dare!"

Lily looked up at him and bit her bottom lip. "Well, he is my fiancé," said Lily slowly, "and I don't think he's ugly at all, Mister Gurdyroot. And I don't reckon you're very nice to say those things about him."

The house-elf scratched his nose and looked pensively at Lily for a while, before looking up at Scorpius again and sighing. "I'm sorry," he replied, "but Milady's beauty blinded Gurdyroot for a moment and he couldn't recognise that the thief is not… too ugly…"

"I'm not a thief," snorted Scorpius, folding his arms across his chest as he still hung upside down in midair, "and you better put me down or I'll use you as a Quaffle and throw you into one of those vases!"

Gurdyroot looked at him unimpressed, before returning his eyes to Lily. "Does Milady want something to drink? Or something to eat? Gurdyroot can cook something for Milady if she's tired," he asked her eagerly.

Lily fanned her neck again. "Some water would be nice," she replied, "but I'd appreciate even more if you could put down my fiancé."

"Every desire of Milady is an order for Gurdyroot," said the elf. He snapped his fingers and Scorpius let out a very unmanly scream as he fell to the floor.

"Damn you… bloody creature…" he muttered as he rolled on his back and rubbed his elbows.

"Scorpius!" exclaimed Lily, going to him. "Are you alright?"

"Better than that little monster in a couple of minutes," he grunted, glaring at Gurdyroot. He stood up and the elf squealed and scampered away from him.

"Scorpius…"

"I'm just going to stuff him in a vase and cork it, Lily," growled Scorpius, following the elf.

"Gurdyroot doesn't know how Milady is promised to marry such a brute," squeaked the elf.

"I'll show you the brute…"

"Scorpius!" Lily called him. "We need to focus on the Orchid, remember? Al is still out there…" She stared as he stopped and sighed, and finally he turned and walked back to her.

"You're right," he conceded, "let's get the flower and bring it back to Toots."

She nodded and smiled to him, but the moment they turned to walk back to the Golden Orchid, Gurdyroot came to stand before them. He raised a glass of water in front of Lily and beamed at her. "For Milady," he said. "Fresh and cold."

She smiled and took the glass in her hands, it was really nice and cold. "Thank you, Mister Gurdyroot," she told him, bringing the glass to her lips.

"Wait!" Scorpius urged her. "It's not spiked, is it?" He took the glass from her hands and sniffed it like a dog.

Gurdyroot scoffed at him, "Gurdyroot doesn't want to poison Milady."

Lily took the glass back from Scorpius' hands. "Thank you," she said, gulping down the water as if it was the sweetest nectar that she had ever tasted. And at that very moment, in the heat of that cave, it was delicious. "Ah!" she let out when she finished it, her body cooled down at once.

"Hey, I'd like some water as well," pointed out Scorpius, licking his lips.

Gurdyroot eyed him warily, but Lily added a, "Please," to Scorpius' request and the elf capitulated with a smile.

"Water for the thief," he said lightly, handing Scorpius a glass as well.

"I'm not a thief," Scorpius replied, already gulping down the water. "Thank you, by the way…" he mumbled when he handed the glass back.

Lily did the same and Gurdyroot made them disappear.

"Okay," said Scorpius, "if you could be so nice as to move now, we've a flower to retrieve and my future brother-in-law to save."

The elf shook his head. "Gurdyroot is sorry," he said, "but Gurdyroot can't move."

Lily furrowed her brow. "Are you our third task?" she asked softly.

"Oh, Gurdyroot is no task," he replied, "Gurdyroot is the keeper of the Golden Orchid. The Maestro himself said that this was Gurdyroot's task." He nodded eagerly. "Yes, to guard and admonish thieves of the perils of the Orchid. And Gurdyroot has been the keeper for fifty years and he has never let anyone take the Orchid."

"Oh, how many people have tried to get to it?" asked Lily.

The elf shook his head. "None," he replied. "The Order of Dìthean knows how to keep their secrets secret and the Golden Orchid has never been found before."

"So, basically you haven't done anything in fifty years, right?" asked Scorpius, raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

Gurdyroot glared at him. "Gurdyroot is always present when the Maestro comes to take the pistils for a new Orchid or when he brings the new Orchid in."

Lily nodded in understanding. "And what do you have to admonish us about?" she asked softly.

The elf took a deep breath, his chest heaving at the question as if he had waited all his life to reply to it. "The Golden Orchid is a gift to the world," he declared, "just like Princess Michaela gifted the Green Man with it, that same night the world was presented with the flower. The Order of Dìthean is the keeper of the flower, and the first Maestro had decided that only who is pure and without fear nor greed can use the flower."

"Well," said Scorpius, "we're here, so we're most definitely pure and without fear…"

"How do we prove ourselves without greed?" asked Lily softly.

Gurdyroot opened his arms. "Gurdyroot has enough ingredients for every potion in the world here," he told them, "Gurdyroot will make a potion each and you'll leave the Orchid here with Gurdyroot, and Milady and the thief will be on their way."

Lily swallowed. Ah, that would have been perfect. She could have asked for some Morning Dew and a petal of the Orchid and then everything would have been all right. She would remember how it was when she was little, when her mum read fairytales to her and when Albus pushed her off his bed on Christmas morning or when Dad took her to Honeydukes. And the next time she saw her mother and her father she would tell them, and Mum would cry in happiness and Dad too.

But… what if they brought the Golden Orchid back and it was missing a petal? What would they do to Albus? Those people were evil and crazy, and – Lily knew it well – crazy and evil people didn't stop in front of anything to obtain what they wanted.

"Right," said Scorpius, snapping her out of her reverie, "we need a petal and two drops of Morning Dew."

Gurdyroot's eyes widened. "Ah, a Memory Charm," he said, "did the thief forget why he is a thief?"

"It's not for me," growled Scorpius, "it's for—"

"We can't," said Lily urgently, turning to look at Scorpius and grasping the front of his uniform, "we can't take a petal. What if… what if they kill Al because a petal is missing? We can't…"

Scorpius bit his bottom lip as he grasped her upper arm. "Lily," he murmured, "if they take the Orchid with them we'll never have another chance to collect a petal for you."

She lowered her eyes. She knew, and the thought made her want to cry. But the thought of taking a petal and remembering all her childhood and then walk out of there and stare as Albus was killed because of her greed made her sick. "I don't care," she murmured back, "I can survive without memories, but Al… no, Scorpius, I'd die if Al was killed because of me."

He looked torn. He surely would have gone mad with pain if Albus was killed, but at the same time he seemed to really want her to regain her memories, especially now when they were so close and everything was crumbling under their feet once more.

"I understand," he whispered dejectedly. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her softly on her lips and Lily tried to push back the tears. "You're a good person, Lily."

"Milady is without greed," beamed the house-elf. "Milady is pretty and valiant and pure and without greed."

"I know," whispered Scorpius against her lips.

Lily smiled and kissed his back, before tilting her head back. "Shall we go?" she asked softly.

Scorpius nodded. "Let's go," he agreed, turning towards the Orchid. "We need the flower," he informed the elf.

The house-elf shook his head vehemently. "The Golden Orchid can't go anywhere," he told them. "The Golden Orchid can only be taken by the Order."

Lily's heart sped up in her chest. "What? No, no, we need it," she pleaded, kneeling in front of Gurdyroot, "we need it for my brother. He is held captive in the cave, they… they'll release him only if we bring back the flower."

The elf grasped his tea towel and started to fidget with it, shifting his weight from a leg to the other. "The Golden Orchid can't go past the seal," he squealed, "the Maestro put up wards. The Golden Orchid can't go past the seal!"

"What seal?" asked Scorpius.

The elf looked up at him. "The seal of the Order," he replied, "the seal on the column."

"It's a flower, isn't it? A Rose, right? I've seen it on the column closest to the wall, right?"

Gurdyroot nodded eagerly.

"And what happens if the Orchid goes past the seal?" asked Lily, eyes wide with apprehension.

"Terrible things," whispered the elf.

Lily swallowed as she looked up at Scorpius.

"Okay," said Scorpius, "okay. We'll bring the Orchid to them and tell them not to bring it past the column. They are evil and greedy, but hopefully they are not stupid."

"And what if they are stupid?" asked Lily.

"Well, it's going to be on them," he replied, "it's not going to be our fault. I hope the Orchid will recognise that."

"It's a flower," pointed out Lily.

"A magic flower," sentenced Scorpius, before turning towards the elf. "We need the Orchid."

Gurdyroot stepped aside. "Gurdyroot had admonished the thief about the perils of the Golden Orchid," he said with a bow, "Gurdyroot hopes that the humans are not stupid."

"I hope that too," muttered Scorpius as he stretched his arms and closed his fingers around the golden flower pot. "It's nice and cold," he murmured, "and bloody heavy…" He had to use both arms to move it off the shelf and finally take it with him. "A golden pot, really? A freaking golden pot…"

"I'll help you," offered Lily, but he probably felt those simple words as a threat to his masculinity because he jerked the pot away from her hands. "No need to, Lily," he told her, "it's too heavy for you."

She smiled condescendingly and looked back at the elf. "Thank you for the water, Mister Gurdyroot," she told him, "and for warning us about the seal."

The elf blushed dark brown. "You're welcome, Milady," he replied. "Gurdyroot wishes Milady to find her lost memories again."

"Thank you," she told him once more, "how do we get back to the wall?"

"Oh," replied the elf, "Milady and the thief walk straight back from where they came from, and they don't worry about the wall, they walk straight back into it."

Lily nodded as she looked at Scorpius. "Like going to Platform 9 ¾," she told him.

"Just like that," murmured Scorpius back. "Let's go."

She nodded again, before hugging the house-elf and placing a kiss on the top of his head.

"Oh, Milady," beamed Gurdyroot, "Gurdyroot will never wash his face again."

"Hey, quit wooing my fiancée, if it's not too much of a hustle, please," grunted Scorpius.

Gurdyroot retorted something about him being a thief and all, but Lily was already focusing on the way back and on Albus, and deep in her heart she just hoped that his brother was still alive.

oooOOOooo

The golden flower pot in Scorpius' hands was exceptionally heavy. He imagined that being another sort of task. _Only who is incredibly strong can take away the flower_, or something like that. Luckily, he was incredibly strong, no doubt there. And even if it was not the time, he hoped that Lily saw the flexing of his muscles under his uniform. Even if she really didn't need to see them at all, she had agreed to marry him already, he could develop a bit of a Butterbeer belly now and let himself go, and still have the girl of his dreams forever at his side.

But that was really not the time for those thoughts. They were walking back towards the wall, back towards where Albus was kept by those barbarians who wouldn't stop in front of anything to get what they wanted. They needed to devise a plan to sneak out of there the moment those people were focusing on the Orchid.

"Lily," he called her.

"What? Is it too heavy? Shall I carry it a bit?" she asked anxiously.

"No, no, no," he replied almost sulkily, "stop asking, I'm not letting you carry this all the way to the wall. You'll ruin your back."

She beamed at him and he smiled back at her.

"Now," he said as they walked past the mirror, "we must do this the Auror way, okay?"

She nodded eagerly. "Good Auror, bad Auror? I'll be the bad Auror!" she announced triumphantly.

"Great, but no," he chuckled. "Listen, we will exchange the Orchid with Albus. You'll take Albus and I'll pass the flower pot, okay? The moment they get the Orchid, you have to have Albus in your arms. We can't risk them to play any tricks, they are evil remember?"

She nodded again, seriously this time. "I know," she replied.

"Good," he told her. They walked in silence through the dark room with the now innocuous mirror, both he and Lily didn't cast a sight at it, still too shaken by the earlier events that had occurred in that room. Their hidden fears were probably the scariest things they had to face in their whole lives.

Soon they were walking through the passage and back to the room located on this side of the wall.

"Walk straight through it," murmured Scorpius. "Just like at King's Cross."

Lily squeezed his forearm. "Just like that," she replied. She stood on tiptoes and kissed him quickly on his lips before turning towards the wall again.

"On the count of three," he said. "One."

"Two," whispered Lily.

"Three."

They walked forward as if the wall in front of them was not there. They walked forward as if that was the first of September and they were just a pair of students going to get the train. They walked forward and the wall disappeared around them just as they went through it.

Suddenly there was light and there were voices and there were people.

Scorpius had to blink a couple of time to put the whole scene into focus, but when he did he found that all eyes were trained over them.

"Al!" exclaimed Lily, horror in her voice.

Scorpius tried to look for him and he was horrified as well to find him tied up and with a face covered in bruises and blood.

"What the hell," he shouted. "Al, are you alright?"

"All good," he slurred a little, his voice nasal. "Jusd had a bid of a gonfrondation wid Whiddle here."

Lily brought her hands to her mouth, while Scorpius gritted his teeth.

"Bring the Orchid," shouted Mrs Toots excitedly, "bring it here and we'll give you your friend."

Scorpius shook his head. "No," he replied tersely, "we exchange them at the same time."

Mrs Toots' nostrils flared and Scorpius could see the motion even from the other side of the cave. "Very well," she said tightly, "come here and we'll exchange them."

"We'll meet in the middle," hissed Scorpius.

Mr Whittle grabbed Albus' arm and pushed his wand under his chin. "Our patience has boundaries," he snarled, "bring the Orchid or he'll die."

Lily gasped next to him, her hand going to his arm to squeeze him almost painfully.

Scorpius swallowed. "Kill him," he shouted back, "and the Orchid goes back behind the wall."

Mr Whittle gritted his teeth, ready to bark something back at them, but Mrs Toots placed a hand on his shoulder and he pushed back any retort he might have had for them. "Alright, Auror," she said, "you take a step, and we'll take a step."

Scorpius nodded jerkily. "Let's go," he murmured to Lily, "stay behind me—no! Lily, behind me!" He wanted to stretch a hand and push her back, but he couldn't carry the flower with only one arm. Lily was standing next to him, exposed to any kind of spell they might have sent her way. "Lily," he called her again, and again she just ignored him.

He looked as half a dozen people took a step forward from the group.

"Hey," snapped Scorpius, "just you and Albus."

Mrs Toots glared at him, but raised her hand to stop the people at her back. "And Pat," she said, "it's only fair, two of you and two of us."

"Alright," Scorpius gritted through his teeth.

One step at a time, they took one step and the other three took another step, small ones, both sides wanting to move as little as possible from their positions. Toots was pushing Albus forward and Lily's brother seemed to wince with every step he took. Scorpius could only guess how many of his bones were broken; surely a couple of ribs, hopefully none in his legs since he seemed he could walk properly, his nose was a mess though.

They stopped a few feet from each other.

"Beautiful," murmured Mrs Toots, entranced by the Orchid. "It's beautiful."

"The same cannot be said about my Auror partner," hissed Scorpius.

"I'd say we improved his appearance," sniggered Mr Whittle, slapping Albus' cheek and making him whimper.

"Hey! Don't touch him!" cried his fiancée. There was a sudden burst of magic coming from Lily, Scorpius could feel the heat rising abruptly near his arm, and if there had been something that could have been thrown she would surely have hit them already and the three of them would have been fleeing that place. But the cave was empty and the only thing that happened was that the columns creaked slightly and her hair stood a bit around her head.

"Lily," whispered Scorpius. "Don't worry."

She didn't reply, but he could almost hear the gritting of her teeth.

"Move forward and give us the Orchid," said Mrs Toots, stretching a hand towards them.

"Bring us Albus and untie him," snapped Scorpius, "Lily will take him."

Mrs Toots nodded curtly before pushing Albus forth. Mr Whittle's hand was grasping his arm to the point where Scorpius could see her knuckles becoming white with the straining, her other instead waved her wand in front of herself to cast a Counter Spell on his arms.

"You alright there, Al?" asked Scorpius as they got closer.

"Been bedder," replied Albus, weakly shrugging a shoulder and massaging his wrists.

Scorpius nodded. "Lily," he murmured, "grab him."

She stretched a hand towards him and placed her little fingers on his arm, a small, reassuring smile stretching her lips at the contact. Scorpius took a deep breath as he stretched his arms in front of him.

"It's heavy," he told Mrs Toots as her fingers curled around the shape of the pot.

"I'm strong enough," she let him know with a sneer. "And I'll be even stronger once I've got that flower." She narrowed her eyes and said, "Now!"

Mr Whittle pushed Albus forward and he let out a surprised groan as he fell on Lily and they tumbled on the floor together. Scorpius let the pot go and Mrs Toots closed her arms about it, pulling it to her chest. "Pat, help me," she grunted, "it's heavy."

Scorpius knelt next to Albus and Lily. "Al, are you alright?" he asked for the third time. "Bloody hell, you are a mess."

Lily was sobbing and hugging him and kissing him and caressing his face, her nose and fingers blushing red with her brother's blood.

"Id's good do see you doo," he murmured as he once again rubbed his wrists where they had been tied until a few minutes before. It must have been a powerful spell because his hands were purple and swelled.

"It's mine," said Mrs Toots, "finally, the Golden Orchid is mine!"

"Hey," snapped Scorpius as he helped Albus to his feet. "You can't take it past the Order's seal."

"What are you talking about?" asked Mr Whittle while Mrs Toots was already dragging it back to the crowd of people.

"You can't take the Orchid out of here," he repeated, wrapping an arm around Albus' middle. The dark haired Auror leaned against his shoulder and against Lily's. "There are terrible consequences for whoever takes the Orchid past the seal of the Order."

"What seal?" asked Mr Whittle.

"It's on that column," snapped Lily dryly, nodding towards the column closest to the crowd of people. "Don't bring it past that point."

Mr Whittle had the decency to look at least a bit upset as he turned to stare at Mrs Toots dragging the pot away.

"Aunt Daisy," he called her, "we can't bring it out. Did you hear? We can't—"

"Shut up, Pat," snarled the woman, "they're just trying to scare us."

"No, we're not," interjected Scorpius sharply. "We're most definitely not." He grasped Albus' hand over his shoulder and walked forward. "Can you walk?" he asked him softly. "We need to reach the stairs and climb them up."

"I'm an Auror," he said feebly, "I'll manage."

"Oh, Al!" whispered Lily. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"Id's alrighd, Lils," murmured Albus. "You were good. Loog ad you dwo, finding de bloody Orjid all alone…"

"We're a good team," agreed Scorpius, dragging him forward. He glanced at the group of people and saw that they were carrying the Orchid all together now towards the columns that led back to the stairs. "Bloody hell," he muttered, "we need to hurry."

Lily too looked at them. "They really are stupid," she said dryly.

"Why? Whad's gonna habben?" asked Albus, jerkily turning his head towards Mrs Toots.

"Something terrible," murmured Scorpius. "We don't know what, but nothing good. Let's go." He sped up, but Albus was whimpering at his side and he kept stumbling on his feet.

"Scorpius, he can't," whined Lily. "He's in pain. He can't run."

Scorpius' lips pressed into a thin line as he glanced at Mrs Toots. "We need to get out of here," he urged them.

"Go," slurred Albus, "go widhoud me. I gan't run. Save yourselves…"

"Don't be ridiculous," muttered Scorpius, dragging him forth, "you and your stupid Gryffindor chivalry. We'll get you out of here with us."

Albus shook his head. "You and your…" His words trailed away, swallowed by what seemed the rumble of a thunder.

Scorpius' eyes darted towards the group of people, they were running and screaming and… and the Orchid was now on the other side of the column. Discarded on the floor as people looked around themselves in panic.

"Great," hissed Scorpius, "now we really need to hurry, guys."

He took a step forward, but there was another rumble and the whole cave was shaken by what seemed an earthquake. Albus slipped, falling to the floor and dragging Lily with him as Scorpius failed to keep them upright.

"Are you okay?" he cried. "Lily, are you okay?"

She tried to reply, but the column with the seal just fell down with a crashing sound, opening a deep crack on the floor. "Ah!" she screamed instead.

"Bloody hell," muttered Scorpius. "Let's go!" He stood up and helped Albus to his feet again, before bending next to him and pushing him over his shoulder. Albus cried out when his ribs came into contact with Scorpius' shoulder, but that was a small price to pay for his life. They had to reach the exit of the cave before they were crashed to death and that was the only way they could do it.

"Scorpius!" cried Lily.

"Come on!" he urged her. "Lily, just go, we'll be right—"

"No! I'm not going to leave you!"

He gritted his teeth. "Just go, Lily! Merlin, you're stubborn!"

There was another tremor and the crack under the column grew bigger as the floor opened before them.

"Jump!" cried Scorpius as he did just that. He landed on the other side and fell to the floor with Albus. Lily just landed a second later next to them, her face scared beyond words as she turned her head to look at the hole that had opened on the floor. Scorpius couldn't see the bottom of it.

"We've got to go, we've got to—"

"Ah!" cried Mrs Toots from a place dangerously close to them. "The Orchid! Save the Orchid!"

Scorpius had just the time to whip his head to see the Golden Orchid fall over the edge of the crack that had opened and Mrs Toots' throwing herself after it.

"Shite," muttered Scorpius, hurling behind her and trying to catch her hand to save her.

He slid on the uneven floor as Mrs Toots' heavy body dragged him towards the hole. He found himself perched on the edge, his sweaty hands around Mrs Toots' right wrist as she stretched her other arm to try to reach the Orchid. The flower pot, tipped over to one side, was resting on a rock a few feet under them. She wouldn't have been able to reach it even if she hadn't been that short.

"Summon it!" snapped Scorpius, trying hard not to let her go.

But her wand was probably lost somewhere, so she just stretched her hand a bit more, her fingers straining to reach it.

"Use your wand!"

But she wasn't listening to him. She was pushing her foot against the wall of the crack to find some leverage to get to the flower, and the more she tried the more he could feel her arm slipping through his fingers.

"Give me your other hand," he cried at her, "give me your other hand!"

"I'm almost there," she replied, voice strained as well. "Almost…"

"I can't," shouted Scorpius, "you're gonna fall! Give me your other hand."

But no, it was as if she couldn't care for anything but the Orchid. As if her greed was playing her a terrible trick. A terrible trick indeed. She pushed herself off the wall a bit more and Scorpius felt the last inches of her hand slipping through his own. He perched himself over the edge and tried to catch her again, but she just fell down and didn't even cry as she hit her head against a rock and blood splattered everywhere. A moment later, her eyes turned to glass and she disappeared into the darkness.

Scorpius, on the other hand, cried as he fell over the edge and he was about to follow Mrs Toots with his untimely death if it wasn't for the little hands that closed over his wrist, very much like he had done with Mrs Toots.

He wanted to look up to see who his saviour was, but his eyes were glued to the Orchid. It was there, now as he stared at it from that height, it looked so close. So close that if he stretched his arm he could almost grab it.

"Scorpius, no!" cried Lily from above him.

"Almost there," he told her as if he was in a dream.

"No! Scorpius!" she cried again. "I can't hold you! Scorpius! Give me your other hand! Please!"

He heard her, but her words were so far away and the meaning even more so. All that mattered was the flower.

"Scorpius, no! Leave it!" She was crying now and he didn't know why.

"I'm almost there," he told her as another rumble shook the earth, "almost there, Lily, for you… just for you, my love…"

"Scorpius! I don't want it! I don't want it! Leave it! Give me your hand, please, Scorpius!"

Scorpius bit his bottom lip. "But it's for you, Lily…" He pushed his foot on the wall, just like Mrs Toots had done before him.

"I don't want it, Scorpius! I want you! I don't care for the memories! I don't care for them if you're going to die! Scorpius, please! We need to go! Give me your hand!" she cried, her hands closing more forcefully around his fingers. Wasn't she grasping his wrist a few seconds a ago?

"Lily…"

"Scorpius, I can't hold you," she sobbed, "please, give me your other hand! It's not worth it… Please… don't leave me… I love you… If you die, I'll… I'll…"

His arm fell to his side. She was right. _She was right!_ It wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth his life. Merlin, what was he doing? He couldn't reach it. He was going to die and never reach the Orchid. It was a useless act. He raised his head to look at Lily, she was trying to grasp his hand with all her forces, trying hard not to make him fall.

Merlin, what was he doing? _What was she doing?_ He was too heavy for her, he was going to fall and drag her down with him. "Lily, let me go," he told her, his free hand trying to find a rock to which hang on for a while. "Let me go, I'm too heavy, I'm going to drag you with me."

"I'll never, never let you go," she told him, eyes filled with tears. "Never, Scorpius, give me your other hand!"

"No! You're going to die, if you don't let me go. You're going to fall down with me! Let me go!"

"No! Ah! Nooooo! Scorpius!"

He could feel his sweaty hand sliding through her fingers and he couldn't decide if he wanted to look at her as he died or not. He swallowed and cried, "I love you," as his fingertips slid through her hand, then he closed his eyes and waited for his death to come.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Oh my... this is such an evil cliffhanger! Muhahaha!


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Notes:** I think in this chapter there's the scene that you've all been waiting ever since chapter one of _Scarlet_. Hope I made it justice. I love this chapter. So much happens! I hope you'll like it too.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

Scorpius was waiting for his death to come.

But it never did.

Another hand, much bigger and much stronger than Lily's, wrapped around his wrist and when he opened his eyes again he was being pulled up by a brawny man with red hair and a myriad of freckles across his nose.

_Charlie Weasley. _

"Come on, Malfoy," he barked at him. "Give me your other hand!"

He did and soon he was pushing his feet on the wall of the crack, this time to be brought back up instead of trying to reach that damn flower. Charlie pulled him up as if he was as thin as paper and before he could even understand what was happening he was lying on the floor and Lily was on him, crying and hugging him and telling him that she loved him.

"No time for that," grunted Charlie. "Luna, you get Lily, Rolf, Scorpius seems alright to walk but stay with him. I'll carry Albus. Let's go!"

Out of nowhere, Lily was dragged back by Luna and soon the older witch had her arm wrapped around her shoulder and was running through the columns that were now ruins. Rolf grabbed him in a less delicate way and Scorpius had just the time to turn to cast a glance at the flower and notice that it was not there anymore, before he was yanked away, Charlie following them with an unconscious Albus over his shoulder.

He barely noticed the mess that was the cave now. The walls were falling around them, the columns were already in pieces, the floor was as insidious as quicksand for every inch seemed to crack under their feet and fall into the depths of the earth. They had to jump and climb over pieces of rocks to get to the stairs. And the stairs themselves were almost completely in ruins, they had to pay attention where they were putting their feet, the rumbles of more earthquakes came more frequently now, and if the descent into the cave had been long as hell, the ascent was feeling alternatively even longer and much shorter.

All that Scorpius was aware of – except for the floor and where to put his feet – was that Lily kept looking back at them and Luna kept urging her on, that Charlie seemed tireless as he ran with a passed out Albus over his shoulder, and that there was nobody else in the cave except for them. Well, either that or the other people were well ahead of them or dead.

It didn't matter at that moment. At that moment all that mattered was that Lily was ahead of him and not behind, that Luna, Rolf and Charlie were guiding them outside, and that their chances to survive had just increased dramatically.

Scorpius couldn't feel his legs anymore when they reached the top of the staircase. But the exit was still far away and what had been the wide path skirted with columns that they had walked before was now a catacomb of dead pillars.

"Now Rolf!" screamed Charlie. "We've past the door! Now!"

Rolf grasped Scorpius arm and before Scorpius could even understand what was going on he felt the familiar tug of Apparition from behind his navel and he let Rolf taking him wherever he wanted. Any place would have been better than this one.

In a matter of seconds, he gasped and fell forward on the cold and humid grass of somewhere in bloody Scotland. The silence of the night was broken only by the ragged breaths of the people around him.

"Bloody hell," grunted Charlie, dropping Albus to the ground. "Al. Al! Are you alright? Al? Can you hear me?"

Lily hurried at her brother's side. "Al!" she cried. "Al, please… don't… don't die!"

"He's not going to die," her uncle assure her. "He just fainted." He drew out his wand and pointed it at his nose. "_Episkey_," he said and they could see his broken nose straighten suddenly. "There, we need to bring him to St Mungo's anyway, but at least he'll be able to breathe now."

"I think he has some broken ribs, or something," said Scorpius.

Luna grasped Lily's wrist and brought her to her feet, cupping her cheeks protectively. "Are you alright?" she asked, tilting her head back. "Are you hurt? Do you feel dizzy?"

Lily shook her head and gave her a hint of a smile.

"What about you, Scorpius?" asked Rolf, patting his shoulder.

"Alright," replied Scorpius. He felt a bit dizzy as the realisation that he had almost died washed over him. But now they were safe and sound, Albus was safe and Lily was safe and he was safe and Luna and Rolf and—

"Wait a freaking second!" he snapped, making everyone's attention turn towards him. "What are you doing here?"

Charlie cocked an eyebrow as he folded his arms across his chest. "Well, we're saving you?"

"How did you know… What did you… how…"

The three of them exchanged a glance, as if to silently decide what they could have told them. Then Luna knelt next to him and moved her cascade of fair hair away from her neck as she turned a bit. At the nape of her neck, well hidden by her locks, there was the tattoo of a flower. The same tattoo that Professor Sprout had had on her neck.

Scorpius felt Lily getting closer to them to have a look at the tattoo as well. Then he raised his eyes and noticed that both Charlie and Rolf were showing them their necks too. They had the same tattoo on their skin.

"What…"

"You're the Order," exclaimed Lily, awe and excitement in her voice. "You're part of the Order."

Charlie turned and beamed at her. "Yes, Peanut," he told her, "you're so intelligent."

"No," snapped Scorpius, "no, wait a second!" He stood up and walked to Charlie. "You're part of the Order? And you? And you?" he asked turning towards Luna and Rolf.

They nodded.

"And Pomona and Tilden," replied Rolf. "Even though Tilden's wife had erased his tattoo before the Aurors could find him."

"Why?" asked Lily, eyes wide.

"To keep the Order and what she had discovered secret."

"Wait! Okay, you're part of the Order but you couldn't tell us anything about the freaking Orchid when Albus and I came to ask you?" he growled. "What is wrong with you?"

Charlie stretched a hand and closed his calloused fingers around his shoulder. "We take a oath, Scorpius," he told him, "when we join the Order we accept that we cannot talk about the Golden Orchid with anybody outside the Order. Unless the Maestro tells us that we can."

"The Maestro? Who's the Maestro?" asked Scorpius. "I thought it was one of you."

"Oh no," replied Luna gently, "he's not here. He had other things to do tonight."

"Yeah, like what?"

"Did he save Gurdyroot?" asked Lily urgently.

Luna nodded. "Yes," she replied. "Gurdyroot is safe and sound and ready to work again."

"Except the Orchid is gone," pointed out Scorpius. He turned to look at Charlie and darkened. "And you," he spat, "you had a cure all along for Lily's Memory Charm and you could not ask for a petal for her!"

"That's not how it works, Scorpius," said Rolf gently.

He gritted his teeth. "Well, then, you have to revise the rules of your freaking Order," he snapped.

"I know you're angry, Scorpius, but—"

"I'm furious," he corrected.

"Well," sighed Charlie, "I'm sorry to hear that, but those rules have been implemented centuries ago and they have helped protecting the secret of the Order and of the flower for thousands of years."

Scorpius was about to tell him exactly what he thought about those rules – and it didn't matter that they've just saved them – when Lily threw herself at him. She hugged him tightly about his waist and stood on tiptoes to kiss him and then kiss him again and again and again.

"I don't care about the stupid flower," she told him, "I just care about you. If you died while you tried to get the flower for me, I… I would have just thrown myself after you. I don't care…"

He felt his rage soothe a little at her words. He sighed and hugged her back, kissing her with equal force. He opened his mouth and licked the seam of her lips and she parted them to grant access to his tongue. He closed his eyes and brushed his nose against her as he explored her mouth and pulled her even more tightly against him.

"No, no, no," grunted Charlie, grasping Lily's arm and pulling her back. "No, Lily, darling, that's not how you kiss a boy. His cheek, dear, always go for his cheek."

Scorpius groaned at the interruption, but Lily just giggled and wrapped her arms around Scorpius'. "But he's not just a boy, Uncle Charlie," she told him, "he's my fiancé."

"I beg your pardon?" huffed Charlie.

"Oh, Lily! That's wonderful, dear! Congratulations!" exclaimed Luna dreamily.

"That's not wonderful, Luna," grunted Charlie, "when did that happen? And that cannot happen because nobody asked my permission here."

"I asked her parents' permission," pointed out Scorpius gruffly.

"Well, I'm her uncle, you need to ask me."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "You lied during an Auror interrogation, we could accuse you of hindering justice," pointed out Scorpius.

Charlie glared at him for a fistful of seconds before folding his arms across his chest. "You have my blessing to marry my niece," he told him.

Lily's grin split her face in two as she jumped at her uncle's neck and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Uncle Charlie."

He beamed at her and hugged her tightly. "Anything for you, Lils," he replied gingerly.

Scorpius rolled his eyes at the scene. As if he hadn't just had to blackmail him…

"Alright," said Rolf, "I think we need to bring Albus to the hospital now. He's been unconscious for quite a while."

"Not as much as Lorcan that time that he fell into a Devil's Snare," pointed out Luna, and Rolf nodded thoughtfully.

Scorpius decided that he didn't want to know.

"Just one thing," said Charlie as he still hugged Lily to his chest. "You didn't see our faces, you don't know who we are."

"Oh, okay, Uncle Charlie," replied Lily conspiratorially.

"What about the others?" asked Scorpius. "The people with Toots and Whittle."

"You'll find them waiting for you at the Ministry," replied Charlie, obviously hinting to them that the three of them hadn't worked alone that night. "Let's go now. We'll Apparate you to a safe location and from there you'll bring Al to the hospital, okay? Can you do that?"

Lily nodded. "Yes."

"Of course," replied Scorpius. "I'm an Auror."

"Right," replied Charlie. "And remember, you didn't see us." He planted a kiss on Lily's forehead and then he was gone with her in his arms.

oooOOOooo

Harry was sitting at his desk. Eyes wide and head spinning as he stared at his daughter and her fiancé sitting opposite to him and explaining in excited tones what had happened that night.

He had been woken up by Ron, who had been called by Emeric Zabini, right in the middle of the night, telling him that Lily and Scorpius were at the Ministry with a group of people that were either confessing their crimes or that had been brought in by some cloaked figures earlier on, who hadn't uttered a word, had pushed them in and had disappeared. And to top that, Albus was at St Mungo's.

And now Harry was just looking from one youngster to the other with eyes wide and slightly sleepy and trying to follow their conversation as well as he could.

"…and then there was the mirror, Dad, and it showed our fears…"

"…yes, but we managed to fight them…"

"…Scorpius managed to, Dad, you should have seen him and he asked me to marry him and I said yes! I'm getting married, Dad!"

"Yeah," chuckled Scorpius, "and then there was a house-elf…"

"…yes! Gurdyroot was his name. He was very nice."

"…and he said that we couldn't bring the Orchid out, past the seal…"

"…that something terrible would have happened…"

"…something terrible happened, Head Auror, they brought the Orchid past the seal and everything went to hell…"

"…and Scorpius almost died, but we managed to run away…"

"…but Albus was unconscious. We needed to bring him to St Mungo's…"

"…yes, and—"

"Okay, okay," Harry cut them off, raising his hands near his face. "Okay, I have some questions," he announced.

"Yes, Head Auror," replied Lily with a beam.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. "Right," he muttered slowly, "first of all, what were you doing at the Toots residence in the middle of the night, Lily? You should have been asleep. You were under the influence of a sleeping draught."

"I thought I could arrest them, I knew that they were the ones who had broken into Grimmauld Place," she replied, "I couldn't bear to sleep thinking that they could come back at our house at any time."

"You're not an Auror, Lily," pointed out Harry, massaging his temples.

"Well, but I knew that Scorpius would have found me and he could have arrested them together," she grinned.

Harry took a deep breath. "Instead the three of you got Stunned, taken prisoners by this gang, taken to a cave somewhere in Scotland, you don't know where. Albus was beaten to a pulp, and the two of you had to go and find this Golden Orchid, and when you brought it back you exchanged it for Al and then they brought it past some sort of seal and the cave got destroyed, and you were saved by some cloaked figures that you have no idea who they were and that disappeared without a trace after they brought you to safety."

"Basically," said Scorpius, giving the hint of a smile.

"Yes, Dad," agreed Lily, "but you skipped the part where Scorpius asked me to marry him…"

Harry nodded. "Of course," he said softly, "and at some undefined time in this story Scorpius asked you to marry him."

She nodded. "And I said yes!"

"The two of you," he sighed, "need to take a shower because you're covered in dirt. Then you need to go and talk to your mother, Lily, because she has to be up by now, and I'm sure she's wondering where the heck everybody is. And once she'll know that you've been almost killed, and that Albus is in the hospital… well… I just want you to reassure her that everything is alright before she faints again." He turned towards his future son-in-law. "And you go and talk to your parents too, Scorpius. I'm sure they'd like to know what happened last night and that you're safe and sound."

"Can we go to St Mungo's first?" asked Lily, eyes filled with expectation.

"Yes," replied Harry. "In fact, we should all go. And we'll have you checked up as well, why weren't you sleeping and all. But then, you're going straight home, Missy, and you, Scorpius, are coming in tomorrow morning to take care of the reports."

"Yes, Sir," replied Scorpius, as they all stood up.

"And you're coming in too, Lily," said Harry, wrapping an arm around him. "As a witness."

"Not as an Auror?" she grinned.

"No!" replied Harry curtly, before turning to kiss her head. "Let your dad, and your brothers and your cousins and your uncle, and your boyfriend—"

"Fiancé."

"Fiancé," he sighed, "be the Aurors here, you're a wonderful teacher, and Miss Mitzy would cry her eyes out if she were to lose her best employee."

Lily seemed to consider his words as they walked out of his office and then with a shrug of her shoulders and a nod she replied, "You're right." She giggled then and went to Scorpius, enlacing her fingers into his, they walked down the corridor and then up the stairs, whispering things that Harry couldn't hear to each other.

oooOOOooo

Albus' eyelids were heavy as he tried to raise them. And his eyes definitely hurt. And the light… bloody hell! That was one bright light coming from… where the heck was he? Had he gone back to his flat the night before? Or had he stayed at Grimmauld Place? Grimmauld Place, he reckoned… right? Then what was that light? Did his mother came in to open his curtains again? What was the time?

"Al."

He furrowed his brow, and what was Rose doing there? Was he late for something? Was he late for patrol? Oh Merlin, not patrol again…

"Al."

And that was James, why on earth would he side up with Rose to torment him while he was sleeping? He could pretend he was sleeping for just a little bit longer, and maybe they would go away.

"Is he awake?" asked Uncle Ron. "Did he move?"

"He kind of fluttered his eyelids, Dad. Do you think he's alright?"

"He's never been completely alright…"

"Hey!" he snapped, finally finding the force to open his eyes. "Look who's talking, the man who slept with his teddy bear until he went to Hogwarts."

Albus looked at his brother and noticed that he was looking back at him with his lips pressed tightly together. "Well, I knew you were awake," he said flatly. "Just needed a little incentive to make you open your eyes."

Albus' eyes travelled from him to Rose and finally to Uncle Ron, all of them were perched over his bed, looking intently at him, and suddenly he understood that he was not in his flat nor was he at Grimmauld Place.

The room he was sleeping in was white and bare, and he couldn't recognise it at all. He tried to push himself up in a sitting position, but a blinding pain spread from his stomach to his side and he fell back again.

"Take it easy, Al," said his uncle, patting his shoulder and tugging the covers around him. "You've something broken, they didn't know which bones exactly, because you were unconscious, but as soon as the Healers come to see you, you can tell them where it hurts and they'll heal you."

"Something broken?" he asked softly. Then, suddenly, a flood of memories invaded his spinning head. Lily, Scorpius, the Orchid, the cave, Mrs Toots, Mr Whittle, the earthquake… "Bloody hell," he whispered, "where are Lily and Scorpius? Are they alright?"

"Better than you," came a voice from the door, then he let out a cry of pain as Lily threw herself at him, arms hugging at his chest.

"Lily," said James calmly, "he's not been healed."

She withdrew quickly, a crestfallen expression over her face. "Oh, I'm sorry, Al," she said, eyes wide, "I'm sorry! Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry. Oh, my!"

He took a deep breath and even that hurt. "'S alright," he coughed out. "Glad to see you're safe and sound." He eyed Scorpius and nodded at him. "You and your boyfriend."

"Fiancé," she giggled.

"What?" spluttered James.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Uncle Ron, blue eyes going wide.

"What?" whined Albus. "When did you ask her? When did you find the time?"

Scorpius grinned and shrugged a shoulder. "Between a task and another," he told him lightly.

"In the cave?" asked Albus, a little wrinkle creasing his forehead. "Not up the roof at Grimmauld Place? After all the thinking you did?"

Scorpius blushed as Lily turned to beam at him. "Well, luckily thinking is not a big deal for me," he replied with a smirk.

Albus narrowed his eyes and looked at Rose. "Is that an insult? I'm too tired and in pain to function at the moment…"

Rose nodded patiently at him. "It is, but you don't worry, Al. Scorpius is just nervous because now he's been exposed as the romantic lad he's been pretending not to be for all his life…"

"Shut up, Rose," grunted Scorpius, but Albus just stared at him as he smiled when Lily went to him.

"Oh come on," grinned Rose, "you're romantic and your fiancée is so strong she can defy a sleeping potion and—"

"Oh no, no," said Lily dismissively. "I wasn't under the influence of a Sleeping Potion. Apparently, it was a Pepperup Potion. They mixed things up in the commotion."

"And got her over-excited," snorted Albus, but before he could add anything, his father was walking into the room and looking at him all proud and worried at the same time, and then he was telling him that he loved him and that he had to go and write the report when he was discharged from St Mungo's and that they had just closed two cases in one night and good job and again that he loved him.

Albus wanted to tell him to stop, that he was embarrassing him in front of Scorpius and that the blond Auror would have never let it go, but he didn't have to, because at that moment the Healers arrived and shooed everybody out as they had to heal his broken bones.

And Albus was glad everybody was sent out, because he screamed like a little boy while the Healers healed him.

oooOOOooo

Ginny gaped at Lily.

Mrs Potter's poor heart would have exploded if anybody else would have told her what had happened the night before to two of her children and to Scorpius Malfoy. But seeing Lily wrapped in her bathrobe, with Alfie bouncing on her knees and giggling, and Sparky standing with his front paws on her legs as he tried to attract his owner's attention, while they all eat a robust breakfast had the power to calm her down immensely. As if Lily's tale hadn't really happened to her after all, but it was just that: a tale.

"I almost felt like an Auror, Mum," she told her, swallowing some eggs. "I mean, honestly, I would do that all over again if I knew we'd survive for sure like last night."

"Great," Ginny murmured, unable to find the proper words to respond to the ton of information she'd just been submitted to.

Lily giggled softly and her eyes sparkled. "And I'm engaged, Mum!" she finally exclaimed. "I'm getting married! To Scorpius! Isn't that awesome?"

Ginny took a deep breath. "Awesome," she agreed quietly, still thinking about Lily's adventure. "Absolutely awesome, dear."

"We need to start thinking about the dress," she went on, "and the date, and the house… I mean, where should we go and live? Oh… I guess I'm not going to live alone anymore after all…"

Finally, Ginny felt like she was given a reason to smile. Well, of course, the fact that Lily and Albus and Scorpius were alive was reason enough not only to smile, but to raise her eyes to heaven and thank God for their lives. And even Lily's enthusiasm at the thought that she was getting married should have caused a tiny grin to tug at the corner of her lips. But the fact that her daughter had abandoned the idea of living alone really made her take a deep breath of relief. And the smile finally split her face into two.

"And the place," continued Lily, "I told Scorpius that I'd like to get married at the beach, like Vicky and Teddy, but maybe we should get married at the Manor? I don't know… maybe if they put some flowers it would be nice, wouldn't it, Mum?"

She nodded softly. "It would be lovely," she assured her. "But maybe you can have the engagement party at the Manor and the wedding at the beach."

Lily's lips parted in surprise. "The engagement party!" she exclaimed. "I completely forgot! I've never been to one, you know, Teddy and Vicky were already engaged when I was found." She gnawed on her bottom lip. "Oh, Mum, you're going to help me, aren't you?"

Ginny beamed at her. "I'm going to be cross if you don't let me help, Lily," she pointed out. "And you… you know… you and Scorpius can live here until you find a house of your own…"

"I don't think that would be nice of us, Mum," she replied, "to impose this on you and Dad. We should look for a house." She grinned and added, "And a house big enough to have a few children…"

Alfie splashed his spoon in his bowl of milk and cereals, splattering milk all over the table.

"Oh no, Alfie, that's not nice," said Lily severely. "Gently, you dunk the spoon gently. Good boy."

Ginny smiled at the scene. Yes, Lily could have had a few children and she would have been a wonderful mother. And a fantastic wife.

And Ginny would have helped her along the way.

oooOOOooo

Astoria was gasping every few words Scorpius said, Draco was squeezing his walking stick until his knuckles became all white. Even though Scorpius seemed absolutely calm and nonchalant as he talked about how he had almost died for that evil woman, and how Lily had saved him at the last minute, and how a damn house-elf had hung him upside down in midair before he could put his hands on the Orchid… Draco's heart was on rollercoaster every time he would start a new sentence with _and then there was an earthquake_, or _and Lily almost slid down after me_…

"Oh Scorpius!" whined Astoria. "Oh my dear! That's… that's horrible."

He gave her a smug grin. "That's ordinary Auror duty, Mother."

"Is it?" she asked, her hand going to her heart. "Oh my, oh my! You're always in such danger, Scorpius!"

He shrugged a shoulder, suddenly looking slightly uncomfortable. "Well, maybe not ordinary, Mother…"

Draco nodded slowly. "Congratulations for closing the case, Scorpius. So, are you on some well deserved holiday, for maybe a couple of days?"

He huffed, "Yes, Father, it's called weekend."

"Well, since it's Valentine's Day…"

"Which is not a recognised holiday, apparently," pointed out Scorpius.

"And you're newly engaged…"

Scorpius furrowed his brow at him, eyes narrowed as he waited for what was coming next.

"I was thinking that you might want to use our flat in Paris for the weekend," finished Draco, "with your fiancée."

Scorpius gaped at him and for a moment Draco thought that he hadn't understood him at all. Not that he knew how to make it any clearer than that, really. Weekend, Paris, Lily, flat that overlooked the Champs-Élysées…

"Consider it an engagement present," he said softly. "If you're interested, that's it."

"Of course I am!" exclaimed Scorpius all of a sudden. "Well, thank you, Father. That's… that's very… that's sweet, thank you…"

Astoria was beaming alternatively at Draco and at Scorpius. "And we should invite the Potters, Draco," she informed him excitedly, "maybe on Sunday afternoon? Maybe for tea? That would be lovely, I'm sure Ginevra is definitely wondering where to have the engagement party and the wedding. We need to assure them that the Manor is always ready to welcome a few thousand people. And maybe photographers and journalists…"

"Mother…"

But she wasn't listening as she just stood quickly from the chair and snapped her fingers, and then went on and on about how to clean that Manor from top to bottom before Sunday afternoon to the house-elves that had appeared before her.

"There you go," grunted Draco, shaking his head, "one tries to do something nice for his only son and that's what you get back. Harry and Ginny Potter invited over for tea…"

When he raised his eyes on Scorpius again he was laughing, loud and clear and in a very amused way.

"Yes, yes," grunted Draco, "wait until your wife makes you do something you don't want to…"

oooOOOooo

Scorpius, a recently healed Albus, and a slightly over-excited Lily were all working steadily to finish writing the reports and schedule the hearings before sunset.

Albus wasn't helping with all his questions about the Order and how could Lily and Scorpius not see who those people were, and what happened at that moment and then at that other moment and then at that… until Lily told him gently to not worry about it, that he was safe and that was all that counted.

"You just want to finish early to pack your stuff and grab a Portkey to Paris," accused Albus.

"Exactly," replied Scorpius gruffly. "So zip it and keep working."

"What shall we do with Mrs Whittle?" asked Lily, biting down hard on her bottom lip. "I mean… she looked like she didn't want to be there exactly… but you know… I just… I mean…"

"You can't keep Alfie," said Albus, without looking at her. "She was as much a prisoner of her aunt and her husband, as I was."

Lily's shoulder dropped as she lowered her eyes. "I just… I…"

"He'll be alright," Scorpius soothed her, stretching a hand to grasp hers and rub it gently with his fingers. "We'll put them under a protection program. Her husband will never be able to trace them when he'll come out of Azkaban, nor will everybody else."

Lily nodded meekly. "And I'll be able to see him?" she asked. "Maybe visiting him every now and then?"

"I can't see why not," smiled Scorpius. "And anyway, she'll have to be cleared of all charges and we'll need to hide her before we can put her under a protection program, you won't have to say bye to Alfie for quite a while."

"Except for tonight," said Albus, still not looking up, "when you'll have to say goodbye to everybody because you're leaving for France."

"It's just a weekend," snapped Scorpius, "and you're just jealous, Albus."

He finally looked up, his face painting with shock. "Of course I'm jealous! You're taking my sister to Paris! Nobody has ever taken me to Paris."

Lily giggled. "You have to take someone," she pointed out. "Like a girl or something."

"I don't have a girl," he huffed.

"That's what we wanted to use the Orchid for," said Scorpius thoughtfully, "we wanted to look for some miraculous potion to make you find a date for the wedding."

"Miraculous?" snapped Albus. "I'm sorry, but I've had more girlfriends than you. They just walk out on me after a few days…"

Scorpius shrugged a shoulder. "It's not my fault if I found the love of my life when I was seventeen," he replied calmly.

Lily swooned at the epithet whereas Albus just rolled his eyes. But Scorpius didn't care, he just stood up, circled his desk and proceeded to kiss the daylight out of his fiancée.

oooOOOooo

Paris was everything that Lily had expected and more. It was a crisp, sunny morning between silk sheets, it was a lot of walking and a lot of eating, it was a lot of sightseeing and a lot of shopping, and it definitely was a lot of snogging. Or how Scorpius had dubbed it: The best. Part. Ever.

It was also a lot of standing in a queue in front of one of the most expensive Wizarding restaurants in Saint-Germain-Des-Prés, just because it was Valentine's Day and they hadn't had time to book anything.

And even if Lily expected it and knew that it couldn't have come at any other moment of any other day, she swooned and cried a little when Scorpius knelt in front of her during dessert and opened the box with the most beautiful ring she had ever seen inside.

And the whole restaurant started clapping when they kissed and he slipped the ring on her finger.

And then he paid and dragged her away, outside, under the moon and in the cold air of the evening, and then back to the flat that overlooked the Champs-Élysées.

oooOOOooo

Lily stretched her left hand over her head and moved her fingers, the little diamonds of the ring caught the light of the candles and shone. She looked at it almost transfixed, and Scorpius stared at her from the bathroom door.

The long, green dress she had worn at the restaurant was riding high around her knees and her beautiful red locks were sprawled all over the white silk sheets of the four poster bed. Her high heel shoes had been discarded on the floor while her silvery cloak was on the chair near the vanity.

He smiled and, instead of walking into the bathroom to change into his pyjamas, he walked to the bed and crawled next to her, until he was lying at her side and looking up at the ring as well.

"You like it?" he asked her softly.

She didn't look at Scorpius, but snuggled closer to him, her head resting against his shoulder. "I love it," she replied in a breathy murmur. "I've never seen a ring more beautiful than this one before."

"It was my mother's engagement ring," he told her. "It's been in my family for generations."

She turned and raised her head a little to kiss him and he kissed her back. Slowly at first, her lips just puckering that much that she needed to give him some little pecks.

"What do you like the most," she murmured, tilting her head back a little, "Lily Luna Malfoy or Lily Luna Potter-Malfoy or Lily Luna Malfoy-Potter?"

"Whatever you like the most," he replied, kissing her cheek. "I just like you. I don't care what you are called." His lips trailed kisses all over her jaw and to her ear. She smelled of the perfume he had bought her that afternoon and he dove his nose in her hair as she giggled against him.

"You only _like_ me?" she asked, a fake pout in her voice.

He grinned and bit jokingly at her earlobe. "I love you," he whispered against her ear, "is that what you want to hear?"

"Hmm… yes…"

"I love you," he repeated, kissing her neck and occasionally scraping his teeth against a pulsing vein, "I'm crazy about you. I'm completely gone for you. You've put me under your spell, little witch, and now I keep thinking about you…" He moved her dress a little to kiss her collarbone. "I think about you every day and every night. When I'm not with you and also when I'm with you…"

She let out a breathy moan at his ministrations and his words against her skin, and he had to shift a little on the bed to move his semi-hard member away from her legs.

Her hands went to his hair and she shifted near him too, her breasts pushing against his chest. "Scorpius," she moaned so softly it felt like a dream.

He swallowed. Merlin, he had to stop. What was he doing? He could feel his erection already starting to strain against his trousers, if he kept that up… he wasn't going to control himself. And that was not what he wanted. He withdrew from her and looked at her flushed face.

She opened her chocolaty eyes and looked at him, lips parted and freckles hiding behind her blush. "Scorpius," she murmured, "I've never… I've never…"

He didn't know what she was going to say, but he just nodded and kissed the tip of her nose. "I'm sorry, Lily, you're just so beautiful," he whispered, "I don't know what I was thinking… I'll go and change, I'll be—"

She pushed two fingers against his lips and looked into his eyes. "I've never made love to anybody," she finally whispered, "nobody has ever loved me like that."

He gaped back at her. He could feel the engagement ring pushing against his chin as she pressed her fingers to his lips and silenced him. Not that he could have spoken anyway.

He really thought that she was saying that she was ready to make love to him. He really thought that. But that couldn't have been. He had been sure they would have waited until the wedding. And then maybe waited a bit longer. He didn't mind. He was ready to wait until _she_ was ready. Even if that meant that they reached that age when travelling on Knight Bus became free before they actually made love.

And instead… she wanted to make love to him. Now.

"You don't want me?" she asked in a dejected murmur, and only then he noticed that she had slid her fingers from his lips to his chest.

He blinked at her. Then his arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her on top of him. "Lily, I've wanted you since the first day I saw you," he informed her huskily, "I want you more than anything else."

"I want you too," she told him in a whisper. And then she kissed him. She was soft and shy at first, gentle and delicate and he just went with it. And then she parted her lips and licked his bottom lip and demanded access to his mouth and closed her eyes and sighed against him.

She was small and warm and her thigh pressed against his erection and for the first time since he was in a bed with her, he didn't move away, but pressed back to let her feel what he did to her. How excited he was for her.

He would lie if he said that he didn't know what he was going to do. Surely, he had never done it, but he had listened to Emeric Zabini talking about his steamy nights with Rose, and to Albus smugly telling him about basically every girl he had been with. And he had read about stuff and looked at some moving pictures…

But right at that moment, nothing really mattered of what he had heard and what he had learned from some books. Right at that moment it was all about feeling and living and kissing and touching and… Merlin! It was too much!

Lily slid her hand to the belt of his trousers and his breath hitched as she wormed a hand inside and brushed his erection. He turned his head, letting go of her lips, and let out a groan.

Bloody hell, if he felt like that with just her fingertips feathering on his member, what would he feel when he was finally inside of her? The idea of getting up and hurrying to the bathroom to jerk off and then come back and take it as slow as he wanted went through his brain, but he couldn't. He wouldn't have left that bed not even if there was an earthquake going on.

He rolled her on her back and looked down at her. Her half-lidded eyes were dark with arousal, her lips were languidly curved upwards in a sensuous smile, her arms were stretched above her head, her smooth skin was sliding sensually on the even smoother silk.

"Damn, you're beautiful," he whispered as he half-covered her tiny body with his own. He slid his hand down, down, down, past the curve of her breast and the slight angle of her hip and down, until his palm came into contact with her naked skin. He brushed his thumb around her knee and kissed her again. Her moan of delight was almost lost in his mouth as his hand started its ascent up her body and under her dress.

Hell, he could feel her thigh quiver as he tickled her. He could feel the soft silk of her knickers under his digits. He could feel the taut skin of her belly as he curled his fingers around her waist. "Take this off," he murmured, kissing her another time.

She smiled softly as she sat up, her hands going to the sides of her dress as she took two fistfuls of the fabric and pulled it up. Scorpius bit his bottom lip as more and more of her skin came into view. Pretty, white and soft skin. Her flat stomach, her ribs heaving with every breath, her breasts covered in her lacy bra. And then finally it was over her head, and he grabbed it from her and threw it at the end of the bed, before wrapping his arms around her middle again and proceeding to kiss all that skin that had just appeared in front of him. She arched her back as he trailed kisses down her chest, over the mound of her breast and down to her navel.

Her skin tasted of the vanilla soap that there was in the bathroom, and Scorpius felt like he could have spent his life kissing and licking her, and he would have been just happy. Naturally, his straining erection was feeling the urge to disagree, but he was sure that he could just push it against the mattress as he bit her hip and then he would have come anyway.

But he didn't want that and when Lily's hands went to his shirt to grasp the material as she whispered back a, "Take this off," he was pretty sure that she didn't want that either.

No, that night was their night.

He sat up and worked his fingers around the buttons. He wished his head wasn't as foggy as it actually was, because then he would remember where his wand was – the living room? The bathroom? The bedside table? – and he would just make all their clothes disappear. All of them, even the ones in their trunks. He didn't care for clothes, he wanted to be naked and wrapped around her for the rest of his life.

He impatiently tore the last few buttons and they flew to the floor, he made his shirt slip down his shoulders and off his arms. She almost giggled at him as he wrestled with his belt, before stretching her hands and helping him undoing it. She was almost better than him and he stared mesmerised at her nimble fingers as they pushed the strip of leather through the buckle and finally unbuttoned his expensive trousers.

He grasped the waistband and yanked them down his legs, uncaring if they would torn. Surely the house-elves could take care of those and to be honest he didn't bloody care anyway at that moment.

His white underwear was matted with pre-come, and all Scorpius wanted was to feel Lily around his erection. But Merlin! He couldn't think about it, because the very thought of her walls sliding against him and contracting around him made the heat in his stomach pool even faster than what it was already doing.

Damn, damn, damn! He would have never made Lily orgasm! He would have entered her and come, and that was all. He had to think about something, anything else. About Albus, yes, he had just seen him naked and that was not a good sight at all.

"Scorpius," breathed Lily as she bit her forefinger gently between her white teeth. She was looking at him expectantly and he couldn't do anything but indulge her.

"Lily," he murmured as he went to kneel between her legs. "I want you so much, I don't think I will last…"

She grinned at him and turned her back a little to give him access to the clasp of her bra. He unclasped it so quickly that for a moment he wondered why Albus always complained about that task. He would have loved to go back and flaunt his newly discovered skill in his face if it wasn't for the fact that probably Albus would have punched him because he was talking about his little sister.

Her breasts were round and white and smooth, and even though he had seen them more times than it was probably normal, they looked so damn inviting with those puckered nipples on top that heaved with her almost ragged breath.

He grunted something that he himself didn't know what it was and lay down next to her, turning his head to lave her breast with his tongue. She let out a strangled cry and brought her hand to his hair, enlacing her fingers into his locks. He took the whole nipple into his mouth and raised his eyes to look at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were parted, her eyes almost completely closed.

The window opened suddenly and closed with a loud thud that startled Scorpius from his trance and made Lily's moans turn to a sheepish gasp.

She swallowed and looked down at Scorpius. "I'm sorry…" she whispered.

He shook his head as he let go of her breast. "Are you… are you okay? Shall we stop?" he murmured.

She shook her head frantically. "No, no," she replied, "I'm fine, I swear. I'll… I'll control it, I promise."

He smiled as he kissed her breast again. "Don't," he replied, "nothing bad will happen."

She smiled gratefully at him, probably the task of controlling her wayward magic would have been too much during sex for her, and Scorpius was not afraid.

But he didn't have time to think about that because when he returned his attention to her chest, he was lost again. The way her back moved against his arm, and the way her hand grasped the sheets under her, and the way her toes curled and her hips bucked… hmm… it was too much for Scorpius, it was entirely too much.

He let her nipple go and raised his head to give her a quick and passionate kiss on her lips, before hooking his fingers on the waistband of her knickers and brining them down her legs.

He had to bite down on his bottom lip to push back his release as she moved her legs and helped him discard her underwear. And he had to bring a hand to his erection and squeeze its head through the material when she slid a hand to her folds and pushed a finger into her. The fire in the chimney died suddenly before sparkling back to life and then dying again and returning once more.

Lily's eyes widened for a moment as she looked at Scorpius, and she seemed suddenly free from the fog of lust that had clouded her sight until a second before, he thought that that was it. That she was thinking again about it, that on second thought she didn't want to go all the way with him.

He swallowed as she bit her bottom lip and moved her finger around inside herself.

"What?" he asked softly.

"I've never been so wet," she breathed out, "nobody has ever made me so wet before." She stated that as a fact, and she probably couldn't understand what it meant to Scorpius. She took out her finger to show him just how ready she was, and he captured it with his lips. She tasted sweet and smelled divine and she let out a groan as he licked her clean.

And now he had to think about Quidditch scores and reports to write and Albus naked again, but somehow nothing worked anymore. He scrunched his eyes and blindly reached for the waistband of his underwear, pushing it down quickly and finally freeing his aching erection.

When he opened his eyes again, Lily's had opened her legs for him, her knees were slightly bent and she was staring at Scorpius and waiting for him. Waiting for him to take her. Waiting for him. Him. _Him_.

He knelt between her spread legs and took his erection in his hand. He inched forward until he bumped into her clit. She took a sharp breath and bucked her hips a little and Scorpius wrapped his hand around the inside of her thigh to find leverage and then…

Then he was slipping into her, and she was warm and wet and tight and everything that he had expected and more and so much more. And too much and oh Merlin! He pushed and pushed, slowly and gently until Lily was mewling under him, and she was raising her hips to take him deeper, and the curtains of the bed were wavering around them, and her foot was brushing against his buttock, and one of the pillows started to hover in mid-air.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you," he breathed he as pushed the last inches inside of her.

She shook her head, almost jerkily and the mirror on the vanity broke. "You're not," she murmured huskily, "never, never…"

It was all he needed to hear. That and the fact that he hadn't come the moment he had entered her, contrary to what he had thought he would do, spurred him on and soon he was sliding out of her and then back in. And then out. And then back in.

He leaned down on his forearms and fastened his lips on hers as he thrust into her. She didn't kiss him back though, she was too lost already. The bedside tables crashed to the floor and the drawers of the dresser opened and closed as if Peeves was pull a prank on them. He looked at her as her eyes rolled back and Merlin! She was coming already and he could feel her walls becoming even tighter around him and fluttering as she tilted her head back against the pillow and cried out her release. The wardrobe opened and Scorpius heard their clothes flying to the floor.

And then it was really too much for Scorpius. He dropped his face into her hair and groaned out loud as the pleasure finally reached its peak. His balls tightened and then he was coming deep inside of her, in that velvety heaven that had driven him insane.

He gasped as he tried to catch his breath. Lily's hair was tickling his forehead matted with sweat, her own ragged breath was like music in his ears.

He pushed his hands near her head and slowly slid out of her. He rolled to his side and onto his back, his mouth was still open as if to gulp down air. It had been better than anything he had ever done. It had been ten million times better than leaning against the shower wall with his hand wrapped around his erection.

Lily snuggled closer to him and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him.

She kissed him and leaned her head against his chest. "I've never felt like that," she whispered, her tone a little breathy still, "nobody has ever made me feel like that. I… I didn't know I could feel like that." A pillow hovered over their bodies. They ignored it.

There was wonder in her voice but all Scorpius could do was feeling a smug smile creep on his lips at her confession.

He turned his head towards her and she looked up at him. He brought his hand to her forehead and brushed away her locks from her face. "I told you I wanted to make love to you," he murmured, "only love. Always."

She nodded and leaned her chin on his chest. "It was so different from what it was for me at the brothel," she whispered shyly, as the fire went out another time and then sparked back to life once again, "I just didn't know it could be so good."

He smiled and stretched his neck to kiss her forehead. "Glad to hear that."

"Was it good for you too?" she asked softly.

He chuckled at her question. "Good?" he asked back. "Blimey, Lily, good is not the right word, you know… more like, bloody fantastic…"

She giggled and he beamed at her. "I love you," she whispered, the window opening and closing as if to punctuate the force of her statement.

"Hmm, good, because I love you back, very much," he told her. "And I really hope that you had a good look at Paris today."

She furrowed her brow as she looked at him. "But we still have tomorrow, don't we?"

"Yes, but I'm not planning on getting out of this bed tomorrow," he told her, before he pulled her on top of him again, his half-hard member nestling between her legs, "nor to let you get out either."

She laughed and he kissed her, the drawers closing all together.

And then they fell asleep in each other's arms with the furniture all scattered around the bedroom and smiles on their faces.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to my dear readers and reviewers. Now, let the fluff begin...

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

Charlie fidgeted in his seat.

He usually wasn't afraid of the Maestro, au contraire, the leader of the Order was in fact a very kind, very understanding man who was always ready to help an Order member when in need.

And even though Charlie was not exactly in need at that very moment, Scorpius' words had made him feel rather uncomfortable that night under the starry sky of Scotland.

He did have access to something that could give Lily her memory back, he did and he had never even done something about it.

Well, okay, in his defence, technically he didn't have access to it, the Maestro did, but honestly, he had never even tried to ask for a petal. A small, little petal that nobody would ever notice it was gone.

"Would you like some tea, Charlie?" asked the Maestro placidly. "I was about to have a cup myself."

"Thank you, Maestro," replied Charlie softly.

The Maestro nodded. "I don't think you're here to hear my congratulations on a job well done," he told him as he pushed a cup of steamy hot tea in front of Charlie.

"No, Maestro, you know I don't like that," replied Charlie with a smile. "I'm here to ask you something."

The Maestro leaned back against his tall-backed chair and took a deep breath. "You'd like a petal of the Golden Orchid," he told him quietly, "for your niece."

_Man, he was good_.

"Yes," replied Charlie. "It's only a petal, and you've just planted a new one, before this one withers, I thought we could spare… well, just a petal. That's all she needs, really…"

"That goes against the rules," he reminded him.

Charlie tapped his fingers nervously on the tea cup, not ready to give up this fight just yet. "I know, but… it's just a petal, and… she deserves it, I mean… did you hear what Gurdyroot said about her? She's fair and valiant and without greed. All the qualities that the Order had valued for centuries."

The Maestro pursed his lips, then he brought his cup to his lips and sipped silently, his dark eyes studying Charlie with attention. "I think that if there ever has been someone who deserved to benefit from the Orchid it was Lily," he finally agreed.

Charlie nodded hopefully. "And she has agreed not to reveal the identities of the Order," he reminded him.

The Maestro shifted in his chair, placing the cup and the saucer back on the table. "I'll think about it," he replied calmly, "I can't promise anything, but I'll think about it."

The Dragon Keeper bit his bottom lip. "It would be a great wedding present," he pointed out, "probably the best they will receive…"

"I said I'll think about it, Charlie," replied the Maestro, his tone always calm. "Now, tell me about you, are you going back to Romania or waiting for the wedding?"

"Going back," he replied, placing his tea cup on its saucer as well, "the wedding is in four months. Everybody thinks I was just here to spend Valentine's Day with my mother."

"Awkward," said the Maestro sympathetically.

Charlie nodded. "I probably need to find me a date for the wedding…"

"I think that would be nice."

He stood up and nodded. "I'll see you in June, Maestro," he told him. "May the Golden Orchid always bloom."

"And may the Order always protect it."

oooOOOooo

Lily grasped the sides of the toilet and felt the rest of her breakfast leave her stomach with the next wave of vomit. Why on earth had she had that pain au chocolat that Auntie Gabrielle brought her from France?

Well, because she had tried it when she was in Paris with Scorpius two months before, and because she had had a craving for it for weeks now.

"Oh Lily," sighed her mother, rubbing her back soothingly, "you're just feeling all nervous because Mrs Whittle is coming to retrieve Alfie today." She threaded her fingers into Lily's hair as she kept it away from her face. "But you don't worry, dear, he'll be alright."

She wanted to nod, but she felt all queasy and even that very motion seemed out of the question. Instead, she leaned back against the wall and looked up at her fretting mother.

"You're so pale," her mother commented, "and this is not even the first time you throw up this week, is it, Lily?"

"No," she replied dejectedly, her throat was in pain after the vomiting. "Do you think I'm coming down with something?"

Her mother cupped her cheeks and made her tilt her head back. "Maybe we should go to St Mungo's after Mrs Whittle retrieves Alfie," she told her, "just for a quick check up. You know Healer Pye is always happy to see you…"

Finally the nausea settled enough for her to shake her head. "We can't miss the fitting of the dress, Mum," she said as forcefully as she could, "Mrs Malfoy is coming too and Rose and Aunt Hermione took the day off just to come with me."

"Well, then maybe we can go tomorrow," suggested her mother.

"I'm working tomorrow, Mum," Lily reminded her. "And then I'm going to look at houses again with Scorpius. There was this very nice cottage in Wales, really close to the school, remember the one I told you about?"

"The one with the bathroom covered in blue tiles?"

Lily beamed at the fact that she remembered. "That one!"

"It must be beautiful, Lily," she sighed, "but are you sure? In Wales? That's so far from here and if something happens, I won't be able to know it until you owl me, or Floo Call or Apparate here."

Lily smiled at her. "Mum, but Scorpius and I already promised to come for dinner every night, and you're invited to stay every time you want," she told her. That was not exactly what Scorpius had said, but oh well! He surely would understand.

Her mother nodded and even though it looked like she would have liked to keep talking about it, she probably thought best to drop the argument. "Can you stand? We better go downstairs and wait for Mrs Whittle, I don't know how patient Kreacher will be with Alfie."

"Yes, I can stand," she replied as she leaned against her mother and stood up. She hurried to the basin and washed her mouth from the remnants of the sour taste of her vomit. But she felt already better as she splashed some water all over her face.

Her mother wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she dried her face and finally they walked together out the bathroom.

Downstairs Alfie was playing with Patches and Sparky and under Taffy's and Kreacher's strict surveillance. Lily's eyes filled with tears at the very thought that his mother was finally coming to pick him up. After more than two months spent with him, for a moment there Lily had almost thought that he really was hers. She felt a knot in her throat, something that didn't let her breathe properly.

"Mum," she whined softly.

"I know, Lily," she soothed her gently, "I know. But Dad said that you can go and visit him whenever you want, remember?"

She nodded. Dad had said that. And Scorpius too. And Albus. And basically every Auror, had they been related or not to her. She had just been in tears for days when they had told her that Mrs Whittle had been cleared of all charges and that she was still at the Ministry just waiting for a new identity and a new place to stay as well as a new job, but that soon she would have come to retrieve Alfie.

And now the day had finally arrived.

"Lily!" cried Alfie happily as she entered the drawing room. He stood up from the floor, the Crups following him and barking happily as they all made their way to her.

She opened her arms wide and scooped him up to her chest. She swallowed her tears and tried to put up a brave face for him. "Is everything ready?" she asked, her voice just a little bit choked. "Are all your toys packed? Even the last ones we bought on Saturday in Diagon Alley?"

He nodded before hugging her neck tightly and placing his head on her shoulder.

Lily looked at her mother again, eyes blurred with tears. She brought a hand to his little back and patted him gently. "I'm going to miss you," she murmured, sniffling soundly, "you'll be a good boy with your mum, okay Alfie?"

He nodded softly against her neck and she noticed that she just wanted to cry.

"And I'll come and visit you," she told him softly, "no need to cry, right?" But the warmth on her cheeks let her know that she was doing just that.

She turned and walked to the armchair, sitting back with Alfie on her lap. She hastily brushed away her tears before he could see them. She tried to smile as Alfie turned to look at her. "I'll miss you, Lily," he told her quietly.

She sniffled again. "Oh, Alfie," she whispered.

But before she could proceed to shed more tears the fireplace became alive with green flames and her father walked out followed closely by Mrs Whittle.

The woman's face lit up as soon as she saw her son, and her son too smiled widely as she walked towards him.

"Mummy!" he exclaimed, pushing away from Lily to find leverage enough to stretch his arms towards his mother.

"Alfie!" she cried, taking him in her arms.

Lily's arms followed him, but closed around thin air when Mrs Whittle took him away from her.

"Oh, Alfie, I missed you so much!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "Oh my little, little darling!"

Now it was Mrs Whittle's time to shed her tears as she held her child to her heart, and it was Lily's time to stand up and pat her soothingly on her shoulder. "He was very good," she said gently, brushing away the tears, "such a nice boy. I'm going to miss him."

Mrs Whittle seemed to see her for the first time. "Oh, Lily!" she said, stretching an arm to hug her too. "Thank you so much for what you did for me! Thank you, dear! I'm so, so sorry for what had happened in the cave, so sorry! My husband – not for long now – I have no words to describe what he did. I'm so sorry, Lily dear. I'm so sorry!"

Lily tried to smile reassuringly to her. "It's okay," she replied, "it wasn't your fault. I'm… I'm happy I could help."

She released her and went back to rub her son's back.

"I… he likes milk and cereals for breakfast," blurted out Lily.

Mrs Whittle smiled at her. "I know," she said gently.

Lily nodded. "And if you put him down without his teddy bear he's going to toss and turn until you give the toy to him."

"I know, Lily," she told her calmly, a smile stretching her lips.

"And if he says that he's going to eat everything and asks for ice-cream before dinner, don't believe him."

Mrs Whittle nodded. "I know, dear."

"Lily," her mother said, "I'm sure Mrs Whittle knows her son. How about we let them go, they'll have quite a bit of things to do with the moving and with settling down in their new house."

Lily nodded, her bottom lip trembling at the thought that the moment of the separation had finally arrived.

Mrs Whittle must have seen her, because she smiled at her and stretched a hand to cup her cheek. "You come and visit us whenever you want, Lily," she told her, "whenever, okay? I'm sure Alfie is going to miss you, dear."

Lily nodded. "I'll miss him too," she confessed dejectedly.

Mrs Whittle whispered something into her son's ear and soon the boy was turning and planting a wet kiss on Lily's cheek. "Visit," he almost ordered her. "Soon."

She half-chuckled half-sniffled at that and nodded.

"Is this Alfie's stuff?" asked her father behind them.

"Yes, Harry, be careful," replied her mother, "we folded all his clothes, don't manhandle it or you'll make a mess."

Her father tried to roll his eyes subtly, but he didn't succeed and soon her mother was slapping his arm playfully.

"Oh you shouldn't have bothered," said Mrs Whittle, turning to look at them. "You've been too kind."

"We had fun," replied her mother, "and it was no bother at all."

"Well, we better go now," she said, looking at Lily's father.

Alfie looked at Lily over his mother's shoulder. He smiled at her and waved his plump hand in good bye.

"Bye," choked out Lily, waving her hand too.

He leaned his head back on his mother's shoulder and before Lily could even notice Mrs Whittle was saying goodbye too and they were leaving through the chimney and towards their new life.

When her mother hugged her, Lily hid her face in her neck. When she kissed her temple, she sighed and leaned against her.

And then she cried a bit more.

oooOOOooo

Rose stared in mild disbelief as Lily was on the verge of throwing a tantrum.

Her cousin. Her cousin who was famous for being the sweetest and nicest and most adorable amongst all the Potters and Weasleys to have ever walked that earth was about to start crying in front of Madam Malkin during the fitting of the dress.

"But last month it fitted," she whined, taking a deep breath and trying to pull her stomach back. "I swear I didn't put on weight!"

Aunt Ginny came to stand near Madam Malkin to look at the dress. "Oh no," she scolded, "if anything she's been sick for a week." She peered at the small of Lily's back where the buttons didn't quite reach their holes. "Are you sure you've got the right dress?"

"Yes," replied Madam Malkin patiently, "every dress is custom made. This is unique." She patted Lily's arm and looked at her reflection over her shoulder. "Darling, you didn't put on any weight, you don't worry. Maybe, maybe you're a bit stressed and that bloated you up a little. I mean, you're definitely not any bigger than last month, I'm sure next time you'll fit in just fine."

Lily sniffled a couple of times as she stood there with the dress all lose on the front and opened on the back. Then she turned towards Rose and gave her a wet smile. "You look beautiful," she told her with a sigh.

Rose looked at herself in the mirror. The silver dress that Lily had chosen for her maid of honour was extremely pretty and she had to admit that it wrapped nicely around her body. "Thank you, Lily," she told her with a reassuring smile, "you have good taste."

Lily smiled back, before turning to the mirror again and then turning away once more to look at Scorpius' mother. "Mrs Malfoy, I'm sorry I made you waste your time," she told her sheepishly, "I'm sure you had other things to do."

Mrs Malfoy raised a hand as if to dissolve Lily's doubts. "Oh darling," she told her, "you don't worry. After the engagement party, I've had nothing interesting to do."

"Oh by the way, Astoria," said Rose's mother, "Ron keeps pestering me about those lemon cakes that you had at the buffet. I need to ask you the recipe."

Mrs Malfoy tried to smile at her. "I'll have to ask the house-elves, Hermione."

"Oh," was all her mother could reply. She had evidently forgotten to whom she was talking. Mrs Malfoy probably had no idea what a wooden spoon was for.

Rose walked up to Lily and stood behind her. "Hey," she whispered in her ear, "you have to smile, you know, no girl should ever be sad when she's trying her bridal gown."

"I'm not a girl," sighed Lily, "I'm a whale."

Rose shook her head. "Please," she replied, waving a hand in front of her face, "if you're a whale than I'm a… actually, what's bigger than a whale?"

"The Giant Squid," supplied her mother.

Rose glanced at her askew. "Thank you, Mum," she sighed. "If you're a whale, I'm the Giant Squid, Lily." She grasped the back of Lily's dress and pulled it tight on her shoulder blades. "Here, look at you now."

Lily's back straightened as she stared at her reflection. She smiled a little since finally the dress fitted nicely around her breasts and her waist.

"Aww," gushed Auntie Ginny, "you look gorgeous."

"Scorpius is going to have a heart attack at that altar, Lily," assured her Mrs Malfoy.

"You're going to be the most gorgeous bride," said Rose's mother.

"Hey!" grunted Rose. "Hope you find something else to say to me when I get married."

"Oh Rosie, you'll be beautiful too when that happens," her mother reassured her.

She took a deep breath and looked back at Lily. The dress she had chosen was a nice pearl colour, with a lacy top that covered up to her collarbone, leaving her shoulders bare, and a slightly rounded skirt that fell nicely around her ankles. She was gorgeous now that Rose kept it tight on her back.

Madam Malkin walked around Lily like a dog would trot around a tree. "Do you like the way it falls over your hips, dear? Maybe we should touch it a bit here. What about your breasts, shall we lower the neckline a little?"

And Lily gave her direction over direction on how she wanted the dress and every time that a little change appeared the three older women started to swoon and pour compliments over the bride-to-be.

And Rose just smiled and had to admit that Lily made a pretty beautiful bride.

oooOOOooo

Miss Mitzy, the other teachers and the children were all happy to see Lily back at the school. They had even organised a little refreshment in the canteen, with a big, flying poster that alternatively flashed a 'Welcome Back' sign with a 'We Missed you, Lily'.

Lily was all smiles and laughter and she didn't know who to thank first for the warm welcome. She was just so happy to be back, even if she would have spent the last two months of that year without Alfie in her class.

"Thank you, Miss Mitzy," she beamed, sitting next to the old woman. "I don't know what to say!"

"Oh dear," said the old woman, "we missed you. Oh, but look at you! You're positively glowing."

Lily smiled at her and resisted the urge to inform her that she couldn't possibly be glowing at all. If anything she surely was a bit greenish because she had thrown up again that morning. But she didn't want to worry anybody and certainly she didn't want to jeopardise her job. She had missed the school, after all and felt absolutely ready to start teaching once more.

"Lily!" Betsy waved at her as she walked to her. "Thank you for wedding invitation. I can't wait to come. Do you have a colour for the wedding?"

She shook her head. "Oh, no, just… wear whatever you like," she replied gently.

The girl nodded. "Who's your maid of honour?"

"My cousin Rose."

"And your bridesmaids? Do you have bridesmaids at all?"

She nodded. "My other cousins," she replied, "I had to have five. I mean, I couldn't choose. They aren't too many, are they? I was a bridesmaid at my cousin's wedding and she had five too, and her sister was her maid of honour."

"Five's great," Betsy assured her. "Right, Miss Mitzy?"

"Perfect number," agreed the Headmistress. "Doesn't Lily look radiant, Betsy? I was just telling her that she was glowing."

"Oh yes, she does," replied Betsy, with a grin. "She has something like… a gleam in her eyes or something."

"I'm just happy to be here," beamed Lily. "I can't wait to start working again properly."

"Good," replied Miss Mitzy. "But for now let's have a bit cake, right dear?"

And at the mention of cake Lily noticed just how hungry she was and went right on to get herself a nice big piece and a glass of pumpkin juice.

oooOOOooo

"I'm already working on the speech."

Somehow that statement didn't make Scorpius feel good at all. He closed the door of Albus' office at his back and walked gingerly towards his Auror partner's desk. "You are," he sentenced softly. "There's still time you know."

He nodded. "I know," he replied, "I just want to make it special, you know, fun and entertaining."

Scorpius swallowed. "Can I read it before the wedding?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Nope," replied Albus with a glint in his eyes, "then it wouldn't be a surprise."

"I'm not quite sure it's supposed to be a surprise," pointed out Scorpius.

Albus snorted. "It's supposed to be fun, you're going to spoil it if you read it and then will probably want to change stuff and become all whiney and go run to my dad or something…"

Scorpius shifted on the chair. "What on earth are you writing in there?" he asked slowly.

Albus shrugged a shoulder. "Shouldn't you go to pick up your future wife and have a look at that house lost in the middle of the Welsh hills?" he asked instead.

Scorpius' eyes turned to the Grandfather Clock, yes, indeed it was time. Even though he wanted to _Accio_ the speech from whatever place Albus had put it and read it, the thought that he would have gone to have another look at the house that Lily had fallen in love with ever since she had seen it the first time, made him slide the folder he had in his hands across the desk and stand up. "You need to sign that and take it to the archive."

"What? Why can't you do it?" protested Albus, opening the folder quickly to sign it and hand it back.

Scorpius didn't take it. He merely shrugged a shoulder. "I have my future wife to pick up and then go and have a look at the house in Wales," he reminded him, "see you later at the Burrow."

Albus grunted something, but Scorpius closed the door and before the words could even reach his ears. He smiled to nobody in particular as he made his way towards the Ministry Hall.

oooOOOooo

"Shall I leave you two alone for a bit to maybe get a feeling of the house?" asked Miss Johnson.

Scorpius nodded while Lily already wandered off into the kitchen. "Thank you," Scorpius hurried to say as he followed Lily, "we'll be right back." He found his fiancée opening the cabinets of the kitchen and peering inside.

"Is it big enough?" he asked wrapping his arms on her belly and leaning his chin on her shoulder.

She wriggled free from him and turned to look at him. "What is?" she asked, eyes wide. "Are you saying that I'm fat?" Her eyes filled with tears so swiftly that Scorpius was petrified on the spot.

"I was talking about the kitchen," he murmured, taken aback. "Hey, are you… are you crying? Why are you crying?"

She shook her head and sniffled. "This kitchen is too tall for Taffy," she whined, "she can't work here!"

"She's a house-elf," pointed out Scorpius, "she can Summon things with magic."

"And the tiles in the bathroom!" she whinged. "They are too blue."

"I thought you liked them…"

"No, they're too blue," she complained. "I… how can we wake up every morning and use a bathroom with such blue tiles?"

Scorpius' mouth opened slightly. "I… I don't know…"

She dropped her shoulders and covered her face with her hands. "This is all wrong… all wrong!"

"Hey, what… what are you talking about?" he asked, walking to her. "Are you having second thoughts? Are you getting cold feet?"

"No!" she replied almost indignantly. "How can you say that?"

"Then what's wrong?" He cupped her cheeks and made her tilt her head back to look into her eyes. He brushed away the tears and waited for her to reply.

"I… I…"

"Yes?"

"I didn't fit in the wedding dress yesterday," she finally exhaled. "It was so embarrassing, in front of your mother and Rosie and Aunt Hermione. They couldn't close the buttons on the small of my back and I just stood there with the dress hanging around me."

He took a deep breath and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Just that?"

She pouted at his insensitivity, but he just slid his arms around her shoulders and brought her closer. "But you've been sickish for days as well, Lily," he reminded her, "maybe you can go back when you're feeling better and everything will fit perfectly."

She sighed against his chest. "Really? You think so?" she asked meekly.

"I do," he replied gently. "Hmm, I can't wait to see you in the dress, you know… maybe I'll sneak into Madam Malkin's next time…"

She finally giggled and pulled back from him. "You can't!" she told him, raising a warning finger in front of his nose. "That's bad luck."

He pretended to bite her digit, before grinning. "Right, so shall we go to the Burrow to have dinner with your family?" he asked gently. "And we can come back another day, maybe Saturday afternoon. I'm sure the place will be even nicer with the sun…"

She beamed at him. "Sounds like a wonderful idea," she admitted. "I love you."

"Love you right back."

oooOOOooo

Ginny was pretty glad that she was not the only person at the table to want to feed Lily until she was completely full. Her mother kept pushing the mashed potatoes in her direction as well as the roast beef and then and the little Yorkshire Puddings and the gravy.

And weirdly enough, after a very little initial reluctance, Lily had helped herself to seconds of pretty much everything, causing her grandmother to beam and compliment her on how pretty she looked that evening.

Lily beamed back and, either the food or the compliments, earned Ginny's mother a big hug at the end of the dinner as she shooed her grandchildren and Scorpius in the living room.

Ginny waved her wand to collect the dirty dishes from the table. "Mum, you know that Lily is always happy to help," she reminded her, as she grabbed half of the plates and let Hermione help with the other half.

Her mother almost scowled her. "But I can't possibly let her help in her condition," she protested.

Hermione furrowed her brow as she placed the dishes in the sink. "What condition?"

"She's just been a bit sickish in the morning lately," replied Ginny with a concerned smile, "but she says she's alright. And she's started working again today, she was all happy. She was almost tearing up this morning."

Her mother turned to look at her, her hands twisting a tea towel. She looked surprised and Ginny couldn't imagine why, since she had told her more than once that when Alfie was gone, Lily would have gone back to work at the school.

"But darling," said her mother, "she's not a bit sickish! She's pregnant!"

Ginny placed the plates in the sink and turned to look at her mother. "Oh Mum, please," she replied, waving a hand in dismissal, "that's not possible."

Hermione Summoned the cutlery and placed them next to the plates, her face screwed up in a focused expression as if she was trying to decide whether what her mother-in-law had just said was or was not possible.

"How is that not possible, dear?" asked Ginny's mother gently. "You do remember where children come from, right?"

Ginny pressed her lips into a thin line. "I remember, _Mother_," she replied sourly, "what I mean is that I happen to know something that invalidates what you're suggesting."

Her mother pointed her wand to the sink and murmured a Washing Charm, before turning to face Ginny again. "Which would be?"

Ginny raised her chin. "Well, it's not like I should go around and say those things," she replied, lowering her voice, "but I happen to know that Scorpius and Lily are not sexually active."

Her mother seemed only mildly surprise. "Oh," she replied, "I'm sorry, dear. Do they hand you reports of their nightly activities every morning?"

"Mum!" exclaimed Ginny. What was wrong with her? Had she had too much Butterbeer? Why would she talk like that about her granddaughter? "They don't. But Scorpius told Albus that he had never touched Lily in that way. He's a gentleman, you know."

Hermione furrowed her brow slightly. "I'm sorry, Ginny, but wasn't that something like a year and a half ago?"

Ginny glared at Hermione. Why would she work with her mother to plant doubts into Ginny's mind? Yes, of course, Lily had had some queasiness in the morning that one may have hastily thought it being morning sickness. And okay, she didn't quite fit in the wedding dress that only a month before stuck to her body perfectly well, and okay she was eating with a bit more appetite than usual, but still! That didn't mean that—

"Has she… you know, was she regular?" asked Hermione gingerly.

"Hermione!" exclaimed Ginny. "That's… I don't think that Lily would like me to talk about her private stuff with her prying grandmother and aunt."

"Well, was she?" asked her mother.

Ginny took a sharp breath. "Well, she said that she was a bit late," she replied, "but that's normal! With the wedding, and Alfie and the Golden Orchid, and work! My poor baby is stressed. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if she missed a month or two."

Hermione cocked an eyebrow at her. "That, or your poor baby is having a baby," she pointed out softly.

"Hermione," said Ginny curtly, "I don't know what kind of relationship you have with your daughter, but my daughter tells me anything."

"Maybe she doesn't know she's pregnant," pointed out Hermione, folding her arms across her chest.

"I mean she'd tell me if she had intercourse with her fiancé," replied Ginny and even to her the words sounded pretty foolish.

Her mother walked to Hermione to wrap an arm reassuringly around her. "Of course, Hermione, just like my daughter told me when she became sexually active," she smiled.

"Oh that's what it is," snapped Ginny, "it's always because I wasn't married when I had James."

"That's not it, Ginny, dear," said her mother gently, "it's just… I mean, I've had seven children, I recognise when someone's expecting."

"I had three, Mum."

"Yes, exactly," replied her mother, "so? You don't think she's pregnant?"

Ginny opened her mouth, but she couldn't find anything to say. She wanted to say that no, she didn't think Lily was pregnant, honestly she had just repeated that over and over again, but her mother looked so sure and Hermione was just agreeing to everything she said, and… and yes, Lily had terrible morning sickness and her face was glowing, and she kept crying for anything, even the stupidest things, and… and that dress didn't quite close around her waist and she wasn't so sure that the next month it would have fitted either…

Ginny brought a hand to her mouth. "My baby is having a baby," she murmured, eyes wide and gaping.

Hermione walked to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I think she is, _Granny_," she told her with a chuckle.

"Hey!" protested Ginny half-heartedly. "Oh my, I need to talk to Lily! Do you think… do you think she knows? And she wouldn't want to tell me?"

"I don't think she knows," replied Hermione. "When you are trying to be sneaky about your pregnancy you don't ask your mother to keep your hair away from your face as you have morning sickness, or you don't invite your future mother-in-law to the fitting of a dress that is surely not going to fit."

"Oh my baby!" exclaimed Ginny. "We need to tell her! No, I need to tell her!"

Hermione laughed and Ginny's mother with her. "Oh I can see that going exceptionally well," she said, "Lily, I have an announcement, you're pregnant, my dear, didn't you know?"

"I'm _what_?"

The three women turned towards the door that led to the living room. Ginny felt her heart racing in her chest as she looked at her daughter's upset face. She wriggled free from Hermione's arm and hurried to Lily's side. She took her in her arms and closed the door of the kitchen behind her. "Oh dear," she whispered, caressing her hair, "we… we don't know. We were just talking, we were being silly. That's all."

"Why did you say I'm pregnant?" she asked softly, wiggling free from her mother and lowering her eyes to her tummy. "I'm… am I pregnant?"

"Your Grandma thinks you are," said Hermione gently, "and I have to say that you do look particularly radiant, Lily. Just as if you were carrying a life in you."

Lily's eyes widened as she probably let her aunt's words sink in.

Ginny couldn't help noticing that she wasn't protesting, or saying that that was impossible because she and Scorpius had never had sex, she was just surprised. Surprised not to have noticed that before, probably.

"I know you youngsters always go to St Mungo's to check those things," said Ginny's mother with a smile, "but I have a book with a spell that has never got it wrong once. Not even with Victoire and Remus. It's easy like drinking a glass of pumpkin juice."

Lily nodded quickly. "Yes," she replied, her hands going automatically to her tummy, "yes, yes." She swallowed hard and started a litany of, "Oh my! Oh, oh my!" as she sat at the table and waited for her grandmother to go and fetch the book at issue.

Ginny bit her bottom lip as she looked at her mother and her daughter get all ready to see if another generation of Malfoys was about to be brought to the world.

"Hey, it's alright," whispered Hermione, rubbing her back soothingly, "even if she's pregnant, it's not as if anybody except for Ron will start calling you _Granny_ yet."

She shook her head. "You don't understand, Hermione," she murmured, "it's all my fault. I never had _that_ talk with her. It's just that talking about sex and contraceptives with her was a bit… you know… after the brothel…"

Hermione nodded. "It's alright, Ginny," she told her sweetly, "it's not your fault."

Ginny nodded and walked forward to observe her mother taking a hair from Lily's head and then dunking it in the water and following all the other passages described in the book to finally know if Lily was—

"It should be a boy," said her mother finally, excitement in her voice, "yes, a healthy boy and you're roughly a couple of months into your pregnancy."

Lily's hands flew to cover her mouth, her eyes widening even more than before, as if she couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe it at all. "Oh," she finally said, "two months? It must have been Paris." She turned towards Ginny and added, "Oh, it was beautiful, Mum."

Ginny tried to smile to her, but wasn't sure she succeeded. Paris. Obviously. It was always Draco Malfoy's fault. _Always_. That idiot!

"You're pregnant, Lils," said Hermione, barely managing to stifle an excited giggle. "Congratulations!"

Then Ginny's mother was hugging Lily and then Hermione and then Lily was hugging Ginny and she was telling her that maybe it was alright if the wedding gown didn't fit, because surely it wasn't going to fit in June and blimey! She wanted another piece of cake right now and then she proceeded to giggle.

"I have to tell Scorpius!" exclaimed Lily. "Oh, I can't believe it! I'm going to have a child! You'll help me, Mum, won't you?"

Ginny grinned properly at her words. "Of course, Lily," she beamed, "of course. But we should go to St Mungo's tomorrow, just to have a proper check up – not that your grandma's methods are not absolutely reliable, but just to be on the safe side. And Healer Pye would want to know, he's surely looking forward to being your Healer during the pregnancy."

Lily nodded thoughtfully.

"And then baby shopping on Saturday," continued Ginny. "We need to buy him clothes and a cot and all those little shoes and toys and—"

"Thank you, Mum!" exclaimed Lily, hugging her tightly. "Oh my, I've to tell Scorpius! Oh my! I'm so excited! How did you know, Grandma?"

Ginny's mother beamed at her. "I just did," she replied sweetly. "I just did."

oooOOOooo

"You got my daughter pregnant!"

Astoria spluttered her tea all over the expensive Persian rug, while Draco's lemon cake went down the wrong way and his throat started to convulse around it.

Ginny Potter just stood there in front of him, Floo Powder falling from her shoulders, her finger pointed accusatorily at him and her face a mask of disgust.

"I did… I did no such thing," coughed out Draco in protest.

"Yes, you did," snapped Ginny Potter, "you sent your son and my daughter off to a romantic weekend in Paris, and now she's pregnant! As always, it's all your fault, Malfoy!"

Draco closed his eyes as he tried to cough out a bit more of the lemon cake. "You need to learn how to phrase," he spat at her.

"It's all your fault," she repeated, shaking her head and collapsing on a loveseat, then she proceeded to let out a shrilly laughter of nervousness.

Astoria shrieked in happiness. "A baby! Oh, I love babies!" she chirped.

Draco cocked an eyebrow at her before turning towards their unwanted guest. "What are you complaining about, Potter?" he asked her. "You wanted an excuse to cling to your daughter and there you have it. A baby." He furrowed his brow and focused on his words. A baby. Scorpius was going to have a baby. His Scorpius was going to have a baby. "You'll move in with them until that baby is ready for Hogwarts."

"I don't want to cling to my daughter," she grunted in protest.

"Oh I want to help too with the baby," said Astoria quickly. "Oh my, let's go, Draco, we need to go and congratulate Scorpius and Lily."

"No, no, no," said Ginny Potter, standing up before they could, "Scorpius doesn't know yet, and it would help if you could act all surprised when they tell you."

Draco shook his head. "Potter," he muttered, standing up, "you're crazy and I'm off to bed."

"But Draco…"

"I'll see you later, my dear," he told her. "Potter," he added towards his future in-law. He walked briskly past them and up the stairs to his bedroom. Finally inside he snapped his fingers to Summon a house-elf. "A Firewhiskey," he ordered, "nice and strong."

Then he finally sat on the bed and rubbed his face. "Bloody hell… a baby…" he muttered, before his body was shaking with a happy and slightly nervous laughter, not dissimilar to Ginny Potter's one.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I can't stand those stories where the couple has sex and then the girl starts vomiting and then of course naturally she's pregnant but the author takes up to a gazillion chapters before they tell us that - even though it's painfully obvious! So, here you go, I just wanted to resolve everything in once chapter. More fluff to come in the upcoming two chapters!


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to all of my dear readers and reviewers! There's a short scene of a sexual nature between two people that you probably haven't anticipated here! LOL! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

The only thing on Lily's mind ever since Grandma Molly had told her that she was pregnant, was to find a way to tell Scorpius about the baby. She thought she could ask him to take her to St Mungo's and then stare at his face as Healer Pye announced the pregnancy to him. Or she could have asked Taffy to make all those baby things – baby carrots, baby corn, baby _whatever_… – and see if he understood why they were having all that baby food.

But she couldn't wait until the following day. She was burning with desire to see his face and have his hands on her tummy, and so, the moment they came back from the Burrow, she hastily wore her pyjamas and lay down on the bed, her eyes sparkling as they followed Scorpius getting undressed and brushing his hair and wearing his own pyjamas bottoms.

He raised the covers and lay down next to her. "Well, that was a nice dinner," he commented, wrapping his arm around her. "I don't know why your grandmother was giggling so uncontrollably when your mother announced that she was going home a bit earlier, though. They looked like they were under a Tickling Charm or—"

"We need to check carefully the first floor of the house in Wales, Scorpius," she told him, leaning her chin against his chest, "and make sure that it has a nice nursery."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Well, if it doesn't, I could build a nice nursery too, you know," he replied, "I mean, just like we want it. I have skills, I mean, manual skills, I'm not just good-looking…"

She giggled. "But you have to hurry up," she let him know, "you know, have it ready before October."

He chuckled. "Oh, but Lily, the nursery is going to be inside, it's not like I'm going to get a cold if I work all winter on it."

"No, but we need it before October," she pointed out.

He nodded again. "We do, don't we?" he asked softly, closing his eyes as a smile spread his lips. A fistful of seconds passed before he opened them again and looked down at her. "What do you mean we need it before October?" he asked her.

She grinned, a happy giggle suddenly leaving her lips.

He tilted his head back, his expression serious. "Lily, what do you mean?" he asked a bit breathlessly.

She giggled a bit more.

"You mean… you don't mean… do you mean…"

She nodded and yet again a river of giggles left her lips.

Scorpius' eyes widened as he sat up and turned to look at her. "You're pregnant," he let out suddenly.

She nodded again as she draped herself around him and kissed him. "Grandma Molly says that it's a boy," she told him against his lips.

"Wow," was all he could say. "Wow! You're having a baby! We're… we're having a baby! That is… that's awesome!"

She giggled again. "It is awesome," she agreed. "I'm so happy…"

He hugged her tightly and slid with her under the covers once again, his hand worming its way on her belly. He slipped under her pyjamas and brushed his thumb against her smooth skin. "Wow…" he said again. "Just… wow."

"Are you happy?" she asked him softly.

"Yes," he replied, laughing in excitement. "Yes, I'm happy…" He kissed her again and Lily smiled against his lips. "Merlin's beard… yes, I'm happy…"

oooOOOooo

"Harry, sit down," said Ginny, patting his shoulders and guiding him to his old, battered armchair near the fireplace.

He let her push him down, even though his eyes wandered from his wife to his daughter to Scorpius Malfoy as he frowned slightly. "I'd really like to take off my cloak first," he said tentatively, "whatever it is, can it wait like five seconds?"

Ginny shook her head as she sat opposite to him. "Lily went to St Mungo's this morning," she told him softly.

Harry's fingers tightened around the armrests. "St Mungo's?" he asked, his voice tense. "Why? What happened? Are you alright?"

Lily shrugged a shoulder, her teeth gnawing her bottom lip as she leaned against Scorpius. "You know I've been kind of sickish, Daddy," she told him slowly.

"Yes, yes, Lily," he told her. "Oh dear, are you alright? What did they say?" He could feel his heart speed up in his chest. What was wrong with his daughter?

"Well…" she said, "they said I'm pregnant…" She accompanied that statement with a bright smile as her hand sneaked around Scorpius' waist. "It's a boy! It's due in October! Isn't it great?"

"You're pregnant?" Harry rasped out, his jaw dropping.

She nodded and grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet like a child. No, like someone who was having a child. "Isn't that awesome?"

"You're going to becoming a grandpa," Ginny whispered to him.

"Blimey," was all he could gasp out. "You're pregnant. Lily, my… my dear, you're pregnant!" He turned his attention towards Scorpius and darkened slightly. "You… you got my daughter pregnant…"

Lily stepped in front of Scorpius. "Yes," she replied, "but Daddy, it was planned."

"Was it?" asked Harry. They weren't even married yet, had they planned to have a child when they didn't even own a house? How irresponsible of them!

Lily shrugged a shoulder and gave him a sheepish smile. "No, it wasn't," she admitted, "but we're excited. I can't wait, honestly, Daddy. I can't wait!"

"I… I…" He looked from Scorpius' slightly nervous face to Lily's ecstatic one and finally to Ginny's encouraging smile. He sighed and looked back at his daughter with a soft smile. "If you're happy, dear, I'm happy too."

Lily was happy. When she hugged him and when she kissed his cheeks and when she guided his hand on her still flat belly and when she told him that she couldn't wait to meet her son.

And, yes, Harry was happy too.

oooOOOooo

Scorpius ducked as the hex hit the wall behind him.

"You got my sister pregnant!" snarled Albus.

Scorpius raised a hand to try to calm him down, but another hex fired from the tip of Albus' wand and he had to duck again. "In my defence," he said from behind the chair where he was crouching, "we're getting married in two months."

"That's not an excuse!" snapped his Auror partner. "And you're not a virgin anymore! What about the Orchid? What if we needed someone pure to pass another task like that?"

"Well, you wanted me to stay a virgin for my entire life?" he grunted. "And scream a little louder, will you? I don't think they've heard you down at the Department of Mysteries…"

Albus snorted and lowered his wand. "I might forgive you for having had sex with my sister if you're going to name your firstborn after me," he let him know softly.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right, Albus… No!" he spluttered. "You're already my best man. I think I won't feel too bad if I don't name my child after you."

Albus stared at him. "I'll be his godfather, then?"

Scorpius muttered a curse under his breath, something that he had to remind himself not to do in front of Lily or his future child. "Lily said that since you're already my best man, James should be the godfather," he replied, vaguely blaming his fiancée for any unhappiness this may cause to Albus. "And Victoire should be the godmother."

"Right, whatever," muttered Albus bitterly, "I'll have to change my speech now. Take out all the parts about you being a virgin."

Scorpius gritted his teeth. "What? Why would you… I'm going to kill you."

"People want to laugh, Scorpius," protested Albus, "they don't want to hear an aww-inducing piece of fluff about how you were the right person for Lily and vice versa. They know the story already, they want to laugh."

"Laugh at me?"

Albus shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe."

"I'm going to kill you," he repeated, before throwing himself at his future brother-in-law.

oooOOOooo

June arrived far quicker than both Lily and Scorpius had expected, and with it the day of the wedding.

Lily's dress had to be redesigned to hide her baby bump, not that at four months it was too visible at all, but she was small and therefore as soon as summer approached and she had to abandon her sweaters for the flimsier sun dresses and tee-shirts, the fact that her belly was rounding more and more was the first thing that caught people's eyes.

And they didn't want to keep it secret – blimey! All of Lily's family already knew, and that was probably half of the Wizarding community in Great Britain anyway – but somehow they wanted to protect the little life that they had created from prying eyes.

"Merlin, it's tight again!" complained Lily from in front of the mirror. "Muuum!"

Her mother hurried into Victoire's old room and looked at her as she tried to loosen the dress a little around her waist. Rose was making Taffy levitating around the bride's head to fix her hair and her makeup at the same time, and Rose herself was using one hand to spread some Sleekeazy's Hair Potion in her hair.

"What?" asked her mother concerned.

"The dress," sighed Lily, "it's tight again."

"Tighter than last night?" asked her mother in disbelief.

Lily nodded and pouted. "I knew I shouldn't have eaten all that pasta that Grandma made," she sighed.

"Oh, not to worry dear," replied her mother, a smile on her face and half of the hair rollers still in her hair, "Madam Malkin gave me just the right spell." She waved her hand and suddenly the dress fit nicely once again. "Better?" she asked gently.

"Much, much better," she assured as she finally could breathe again. She brought a hand to her stomach to rub it gently as she had taken to do in the past weeks.

"Everything alright, Rosie?" asked her mother.

Rose looked at her, blue eyes wide. "I'm more nervous than Lily," she whined, "but after all she doesn't have to walk down the aisle, and very probably stumble at some point, and even more probably fall face first into the sand in front of her ex-boyfriend."

"Aww, Rose," beamed Lily. "You'll be beautiful and Emeric will just sit there and turn all green because he left you."

She smiled at her. "Thank you, Lily," she replied, "come on now, let's get ready for your big day…"

oooOOOooo

"I need to throw up."

"Are you pregnant as well?"

"Shut up, Al," groaned Scorpius.

Albus glanced at James, before returning his gaze to Scorpius. "Just think about leaving my sister at the altar now and I'll hex your head bald."

"I don't want to leave your sister at the altar," he snapped, struggling with the knot of his tie. "I'm just starting to think that we should have eloped. That's all."

"Oh yes, and then not only my mother would have killed you, but I think my father would have sent you to Azkaban," snorted James, "maybe not in that order."

Scorpius took a deep breath and shook his head, his fingers fidgeting with his tie, until he let out a frustrated groan and looked like he was going to strangle himself.

Albus shook his head as well. He walked to him and pushed his hands away from the necktie. "Listen," he started, untying the tie, "I'm no wedding expert. And if I'd known that you'd have been _this_ nervous on the day of your wedding, I would have suggested you had Teddy as your best man."

"I was going to—"

"Shush," he cut him off, "too late for that, you're stuck with me now. Listen, you love the girl, the girl loves you. You got her pregnant. You already bought the house – and, by the way, I hope the guest room you promised me is ready—"

"We didn't promise you any—"

"What I'm trying to say, Scorpius, is that there's no reason for you to be nervous," he told him, finally fastening the tie in the right way. "Everybody loves you, and we can't wait for you to be part of the family and share our surname."

"Hey! It's Lily who's going to—"

"Good," said Albus, smoothing Scorpius' shirt, "I'll see you out there, then. Don't be late."

He walked out and closed the door at his back.

"Unbelievable," muttered Scorpius.

James chuckled. "That's the wisest he gets, you should be honoured, he usually never talks like that."

Scorpius nodded grimly as he wore his trousers and fastened them around his waist.

"Ready?" asked James.

The groom took a deep breath as he looked at his pale reflection in the mirror. "Ready."

oooOOOooo

Lily was gorgeous, and Scorpius didn't have a heart attack, but he was surely in awe as he looked at her walking down that red carpet on the beach of Tinworth in Cornwall.

Ginevra was crying and her mother was sobbing as well. Lily's father's eyes were all wet with tears, but he seemed to do his best to keep them from spilling over the corners.

Draco was looking all proud at his son, his hand searched Astoria's every now and then and then it was squeezed hers when something important happened: the rings, the vows, the kiss. Astoria almost wanted to kiss her husband as well, but he didn't even notice when she snuggled closer to him. "Our son is so handsome," she whispered, trying to attract his attention.

"He most certainly is," replied Draco, without looking at her.

"And our daughter-in-law as well," she added.

He nodded. "She most certainly is too," he agreed.

Astoria had to admit that a wedding at the beach was fairly picturesque. Of course, the sand was a bit of a nuisance, but the youngsters seemed to like to take off their pretty shoes and dance near the sea as the music of the Weird Sisters blasted off some old radio, and the children were most happy to scream and run and play with whatever adult was patient enough to pay heed to them.

The banquet too was pretty decent and the entertainment with the Weasley whatever-they-were-called fireworks made everybody look up in awe, young and old. But the thing that Astoria approved the most, apart from Lily, was the tall pile of presents that had been placed over a table at the entrance of the tent they had raised on the beach.

"Astoria," said Ginevra as she perused the presents, "wonderful ceremony, wasn't it?"

"Absolutely," she replied with a smile. "So Scorpius and Lily are moving into their house tonight, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," she said, tugging a lock of hair behind her ear.

"And you're moving in… when again?"

"Tomorrow, so that I can get most of the stuff ready for when they come back from the honeymoon," she replied nonchalantly. "When were you thinking?"

"Hmm, right after the honeymoon, but I wouldn't mind to keep you company if you're there all alone," she replied.

She smiled at her. "Sounds perfect."

"Do they know it?"

Ginevra laughed nervously. "Oh no, it's a surprise," she told her, "another wedding gift."

Astoria nodded and giggled. "I can't wait to see their faces."

oooOOOooo

Scorpius leaned forward towards Lily and placed a hand on her belly. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, bringing her second piece of wedding cake to her mouth. "I'm more than okay," she replied gently. "I'm happy and tired."

"Tired? Tired is not good," said Scorpius, furrowing his brow. "Do you want to lie down a little?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I want to dance again with you," she let him know, stretching her naked foot to caress his shin.

He chuckled and leaned back against the back of the chair. "Later," he replied, "when you've rested a little." He turned to look at the pile of presents next to them and pursed his lips. "Where are we going to put all these things?" He grabbed a big, heavy package and shook it a little in his hands.

"Scorpius! What if it's fragile?" exclaimed Lily, eyes going wide.

He sighed and read the card on the top. "_To Lily and Scorpius, may your life be even sweeter with this incredibly useful bowl that will make ice-cream appear every time you tap it with your wand. Aunt Muriel_." He looked at Lily and snorted, "She just spoiled the present for us."

Lily giggled. "She's so sweet."

"Honestly, I think she's a bit on the crazy side…"

Lily grabbed a present herself, a tall cylinder with something that shifted on inside. "Seems like something made of glass," she sentenced, "hmm… from Aunt Daphne."

Scorpius shook his head. "Surely it's something extremely expensive and absolutely useless," he told her, "why can't they just give us… I don't know… small things that are easy to carry and that won't take us years to decide where to put? Like this one." He grasped a little golden box the size of a Chocolate Frog Card. "This is perfect and light," he sentenced. "Let me see who's the intelligent person that we'll have to invite over for dinner… _To Lily and Scorpius, may this present bring you lots of happy memories, Maestro_…" His voice trailed away as he made sense of the words. _Maestro_. The Maestro?

Was that… but that was not possible. The Orchid had rolled down into the depths of the earth. That couldn't have been… the flower was destroyed. It was gone. Forever. He had seen it.

But now that Scorpius thought about it, he hadn't see it roll anywhere at all. In all fairness, he had been too busy grasping Charlie's arms and pull himself up and then kissing Lily and then finally noticing that he hadn't died, to care for the plant at that moment.

He raised his eyes on his wife, she was looking back at him with her lips parted in surprise. She had placed the empty plate somewhere and now she was rubbing her fingers over the swell of her stomach. "Scorpius…" she breathed.

He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. Merlin! What if it was just a card expressing the Maestro's gratitude for having helped the Order that night? But come on, a card didn't need a box.

He started working on the bow at the top, pulling at the ribbon that kept it together. Bloody hell, his heart was racing now.

He dug his nails under the edge of the lid and took a deep breath before opening it that much needed for him to look inside without any prying eyes noticing that they were opening a present already.

He took a sharp breath and closed it again, looking up at Lily. He opened his mouth, but then he was unable to say anything, and so he just nodded.

Lily's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes shone with tears. She swallowed hard and stood up. "Let's go," she murmured.

"Where?" asked Scorpius as she grasped his wrist.

"To say thank you," she whispered, before guiding him away.

oooOOOooo

"This doesn't change anything," panted Rose. "I still hate you."

"Shite, Rosie," hissed Emeric against her neck, "not now." He bit her skin as pushed up her dress. "You look so hot."

She tried to grab the basin behind her, but he withdrew and grasped her hips, turning her around and pushing her face mercilessly against the mirror. She felt him slide his hand down her buttock as his mouth found her ear. "Bloody hell, why did you never dress like this for me once?" he grunted.

She didn't reply, but groaned as he pushed her knickers aside and pushed a finger between her dripping folds.

"God, you're wet…"

"Stop talking, Merlin!" snapped Rose, pushing back against his hand. "People are gonna need the bathroom at some point."

He chuckled in her ear. "Good point," he replied.

She heard him undo his belt and before she could even turn to have a look at him he was already pushing into her. She groaned again, her breath steaming up the mirror. "Blimey," she muttered.

"Damn, I forgot how good you felt," he moaned. "So good…" Then he stopped talking and he started thrusting into her, until the edge of the basin dug into her hipbones and her hands slid down the mirror.

He was grunting like an animal, and Merlin! did it turn her on. He circled his hand around her hip and found her clit with his finger. He pushed and rubbed it. She gnawed on her bottom lip as she came, squeezing him and dragging him over the edge with her.

He leaned his forehead against her shoulder blade, panting hard and tickling her skin. "I love you," he murmured, kissing her back.

She rolled her eyes and tried to wriggle free, but his arms tightened around her. "Get off," she whispered harshly.

"Hmm… marry me, Rose…"

"Are you drunk?" she snapped. "Get off me and go f—"

"Rosie? Are you in there?" asked her father from the other side of the door. "I need the loo real quick. I kind of had too much Butterbeer."

"Almost done, Da-aad," she half cried as Emeric thrust his flaccid member into her.

"Are you okay?"

She elbowed him hard in the ribs and he had to bite down on his lip until he drew blood to stifle a groan.

"Peachy," she replied lightly, pushing down her dress, "I'll be right there." She turned to look at Emeric. "You better Disapparate," she told him coldly, "unless you want your boss to kill you."

He grasped her wrist and pulled her to him. "Will you go out with me on Saturday?"

"No," she replied curtly, stepping with her heel on his toe. "I still hate you."

He cursed, but she heard the pop of Disapparition before she could turn and open the door.

oooOOOooo

"I think you've had enough cake," sentenced Hannah, hands on her hips. "I thought you were on diet, Neville."

"From Monday…"

"You said that last Sunday," she sighed.

"Well, I didn't say which Monday…" he chuckled. "But this cake is mind-blowing, Hannah, you need to ask Ginny the recipe, for the inn you know…"

"It's a wedding cake, Neville, I don't think it would fit anywhere in the menu," she pointed out.

"Then we need to start hosting weddings…"

She shook her head again, but she was smiling and Neville knew that he had just earned himself a third piece of cake…

"Oh, Lily! Scorpius! What a lovely ceremony!" sighed Hannah. "And look at you, Lily, you're radiant! Absolutely glowing." Neville turned just in time to see his wife's hand going to her belly. "And how's the baby doing?"

"He's fine," replied Lily with a grin, "growing every day more, and absolutely fine."

"Good to hear that," she replied gently.

"Mrs Longbottom," said Scorpius, "would you mind if I took a picture with you? It's just that we're trying to take as many pictures as possible with the guests, and… I'm not quite sure we've got one with you."

"Oh!" exclaimed Hannah, cheerfully. "That's so nice. I'll be happy to. With Lily as well, maybe?"

"I'll be right there," Lily assured her, "just give me a second to rest." She rubbed her stomach and smiled.

"Of course! How insensitive of me!" she smiled and followed Scorpius towards the beach, her red dress fluttering in the wind.

"Neville," Lily called him gently.

He smiled at her, swallowing the last piece of cake. "Yes, my dear," he replied, "Hannah is right, such a lovely ceremony, and you look radiant."

She nodded. "Thank you for the present."

He waved a hand in front of her. "Oh, well, you have to thank Hannah for it. I mean, I wouldn't know much about cookbooks and stuff, right?" he chuckled.

She shook her head. "No, not that present," she murmured. "The other one."

Neville placed the half-finished cake on a nearby table, glaring at the house-elf who was about to take it away. "The other one?" he asked gingerly.

She nodded. "It's the thing we wanted the most," she confessed.

He pressed his lips together in a thin line. "Lily, I think you're confusing me with someone else," he said softly.

She placed a hand on his arm and stood on tiptoes as he bent his back a bit. She kissed his cheek lightly and whispered, "Thank you, Maestro."

He grasped her hand, before she could move away. "I think you'll have to thank your Uncle Charlie as well," he whispered, winking at her.

And her smile was all the reassurance Neville needed to know that the Maestro had done well to break the rules for once.

oooOOOooo

Nobody would have found them at the top of hill behind Shell Cottage. The last guests were drinking and talking and laughing around the bonfires on the beach, and they weren't looking for them.

Lily closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

The petal tasted sweet and the Morning Dew was fresh.

She swallowed and leaned her head against Scorpius' shoulder, her legs shifting slightly in his lap.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

She nodded, then she sagged against him and everything went black.

oooOOOooo

Scorpius' mother-in-law was laughing and chatting out loud. She had probably had a bit too much wine. Like everybody. Well, everybody except Lily and Scorpius.

She was tightening a shawl around her naked shoulders, her cheeks were lit by the flames of the fire in front of her. Rose's mother was standing next to her, touching her arm every now and then and pointing at someone and nodding and sipping from a warm Butterbeer.

Lily's whole family and Scorpius' smaller one were all there. Feet in the sand and breeze on their faces.

Lily squeezed Scorpius' hand and raised her eyes to look at him. Her cheeks too were nice and rosy, much better than a few minutes before when she had just fainted in his arms. Or when she had woken up and cried over his shoulder at the memory of the day that she had been taken away from her Grandmother's house.

He nodded at his wife and stopped a bit behind her. Lily, instead, walked towards her mother and when Mrs Potter saw her daughter, she smiled and went to her, her arms wrapping around her shoulders and dragging her closer to the fire.

"Lily, darling, are you alright? Aren't you cold? And tired? Come closer to the fire, dear…"

Lily let her mother rub her upper arms as she turned to look at her.

Even in the dark, Scorpius could see Lily's shining eyes. He held his breath and stepped closer to the bonfire as well.

"Mum," she murmured.

"Yes, dear?" she replied, tilting her head back to look down at her.

"I'm sorry," she told her.

Her mother glanced at Rose's mother and let out a little chuckle, before turning to look at Lily. "You're sorry for what, dear?" she asked. "Nothing to be sorry about on your special day."

She wetted her lips. "I'm sorry I said that I hated you."

Her mother furrowed her brow a little. Now everybody was looking at them. "When would you have done that, Lily?"

"When you didn't let me ride your broom."

Mrs Potter's arm slid from her shoulders as she looked at her. "Lily…" she whispered.

"I know I was just nine," she continued, "but… you were just concerned. Now I know, I would never let my child ride a broom at nine."

There was an eerie silence that descended like a blanket over the last people that were still there, the cracking of the fire could be heard as if they were fireworks now.

Mrs Potter searched for her husband with her eyes, but he was looking at Lily as well. Everybody was.

"It wasn't Al who ate all the biscuits on Boxing Day the year before James left for Hogwarts," she told her, "I did. I was just really good at hiding the fact I had a really bad stomach-ache the following day."

Lily's mother was crying now. Silently, and with her eyes wide and her bottom lip trembling. At that moment, the only thing moving were the flames of the bonfire. Even the breeze had stopped.

"I love you, Mum…"

Lily hugged her, but Mrs Potter was speechless. She hugged her back, and just started to properly sob, big, wet tears falling on Lily's hair. And then her father hugged her from behind, sandwiching her between the two of them. And then James and Albus joined and… Merlin! That was a big hug and Scorpius just hoped that his son was alright.

Charlie came to stand next to him as people finally found their voice and went to talk to Lily in wonder because of the miracle that had just happened.

Scorpius looked up at him and he looked back and nodded, a small smile on his sunburned lips.

"Thank you," murmured Scorpius.

He shrugged a shoulder. "Didn't do anything."

"That's not what Neville said."

He took a deep breath and finally smiled properly. "Well, if the Maestro said it…"

Scorpius nodded and his eyes wandered back to Lily.

And everything was perfect now.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hope you enjoyed this chapter. There was a bit of everybody there. I think it could be improved, but I'm not sure exactly how yet, so it'll stay like that until I enlist the help of a beta to go through "Scarlet" and this story. Next chapter is going to be the Epilogue and it's short and sweet and fun and very different from all these chapters. I love it and I hope you'll like it too! Ta ta for now.


	20. Epilogue

**Author's Notes:** Thank you, m'dear reviewers! Enjoy this epilogue I offer you a day early.

* * *

**Epilogue**

_One year later…_

Scorpius cracked one eye open when he heard the door of his room being closed, probably not as subtly as the intruder had hoped. He craned his neck a little and glanced at the empty cot before turning again and leaning his head back on the pillow. He stretched an arm and snuggled closer to Lily.

"Our son's gone," he murmured in her hair.

"Again?" she asked sleepily.

"Again," he confirmed in a murmur, pulling her to him.

"Who was it this time?" she murmured.

"I don't know, I didn't see them," he yawned. "Lily…"

"Hmm…"

"When are they going back to their own houses?"

oooOOOooo

Draco sat on the armchair near the window, the one that overlooked the green hills of Wales. It was foggy again that morning, even though it was the middle of June.

He sighed and lowered his eyes on his grandson.

The baby was looking up at him, blue eyes wide and blond hair in disarray at the top of his little head. His plump hand stretched his fingers to touch Draco's pointy chin, and Draco made him sit up against his arms.

"Did you sleep well, Alfie?" he asked him in a high-pitched voice, puckering his lips to give him a kiss. "Or did Daddy snore too loud?"

The child gurgled a laughter at his funny voice and Draco beamed at him.

"Oh, but you slept well, you slept well," he told him gently, "but if you didn't, you know you could sleep with Grandpa Draco and Grandma Astoria, right, dear?"

There were steps coming from the stairs and Draco glanced at the door before turning to his grandson. "If it's Mummy or Daddy," he whispered conspiratorially, "Grandma Ginny brought you downstairs." He thought for a bit and added, "And then the woman abandoned you here."

His grandson giggled and babbled, "Da da da," as he patted Draco's cheek and the grandfather melted a little.

"Oh, there you are," said Ginny, walking into the sunroom. "Did Grandpa Draco steal you away again?" She didn't as much as look at Draco as she went to take the child from his arms.

"Excuse me," he protested, "my grandchild and I were having a bit of alone time. Just the two of us, without Grandma Ginny coming down to disturb us."

She waved a hand to dismiss him and kissed Alfie's cheek, before tickling him under his armpits. Their grandson giggled and waved his little hands in happiness.

She caressed his cheek and planted some more kisses all over his face. The child delighted in the attention and let out a little cry of happiness that filled the sunroom.

"You must be hungry, Alfie," said Ginny with her voice ridiculously high. "I bet Grandpa Draco didn't prepare any milk for you, did he?"

"We just came downstairs," he protested sourly. "I was just about to call for Taffy."

Ginny wrinkled her nose at him, but before she could retort something, Astoria walked into the sunroom. Her hair barely combed and a nightgown loosely tied around her waist. She was turning more and more into those Potters who walked around with Muggle clothes all the time or wouldn't dress properly before breakfast.

"Good morning, Draco," she chirped, going to kiss his forehead, before turning all his attention towards Alfie. "Hello, sunshine!" she greeted him brightly. "Did he sleep well? Is he hungry? Where are Mummy and Daddy?"

Ginny let her take him and Astoria started to pepper kisses all over his head.

"Mummy and Daddy are still sleeping," replied Draco, as he opened the most recent issue of the Daily Prophet from the pile on the coffee table. "As always. They laze in bed until nine on Saturdays because they don't have to work and know that we're always here to take care of their child."

Ginny called for Taffy and the house-elf appeared with a subtle pop. "Mistress Ginny called Taffy?" she asked, bowing.

"Yes, Taffy," replied Ginny, "can you prepare Alfie's baby bottle? The usual temperature, please."

The elf nodded eagerly and scampered her brown feet on the floor as she disappeared into the kitchen.

"It's quiet," commented Astoria as she sat on the armrest of Draco's armchair with Alfie bouncing on her legs.

Draco lowered the Prophet. "It is," he agreed. "I can't even hear the Crups."

"Oh, Harry took them with him," replied Ginny nonchalantly, "for a walk in the fields."

Draco glared at her. "All of them? Even _my_ Crups?"

"It's not healthy for them to spend all their time in the house," sentenced Ginny.

"Excuse me, who's the breeder here?" snapped Draco.

The moment that he raised his voice, Alfie started crying in Astoria's arms. And the moment he started crying, the door of the sunroom opened and Harry Potter walked inside with the pack of Crups padding at his heels. "Good morning," he greeted cheerfully, before going to his wife to kiss her gently.

"Good morning, Harry," said Astoria gently, "how was your walk?"

"Very relaxing, thank you," he replied, going to her. "Oh, how's my little man doing this morning? Was he crying? Why? Because Grandpa Draco was snapping at Grandma Ginny again?" He took the child and Alfie calmed a bit as Harry rocked him in his arms.

"Exactly for that," sentenced Harry's wife.

Draco glared at her. "I suspect he's hungry," he replied gruffly. "When did Lily last feed him?"

"At midnight," replied Ginny. "He was a bit restless last night."

"Did she breastfeed him or did she give him the bottle?" asked Astoria.

"She breastfed him, but only a little bit," replied Ginny, "I'm afraid she doesn't have much milk left."

Draco focused on the Crups that were nuzzling at his legs now, not quite sure that Lily would have appreciated to have the four of them discussing about her milk.

"The baby bottle is ready," squealed Taffy, walking back in the sunroom.

"Thank you, Taffy," replied Harry, sitting on the couch and seating Alfie in his lap before tilting the bottle and waiting for him to take it in his little mouth. He suckled greedily and patted his little hands on the plastic.

"Some breakfast now would be appreciated," said Draco.

"Taffy will make Master Draco breakfast," she told him.

"Make it for everybody, Taffy," corrected Ginny. "I'm a bit peckish already."

Taffy nodded eagerly. "And Mistress Lily and Master Scorpius?"

"Oh, let them sleep a bit longer," replied Astoria. "Scorpius becomes all funny when we wake him up, and then he starts saying all those ridiculous things like that we're old and should go back home and relax a bit."

They all laughed at the absurdity of that statement.

"Are Al and James coming for lunch?" asked Harry as he moved the bottle around in Alfie's mouth a little to accommodate it between his little teeth.

"Yes," replied Ginny, "and apparently Emeric and Rose too."

"Are they back together?" asked Draco, pretending to sound uninterested. "Didn't Rose leave him last month?"

"And then they got back together, then Emeric dumped her, and two days ago they got back together again," replied his wife, "Merlin, Draco, keep up."

He shrugged a shoulder and rolled his eyes, as if someone like himself could be interested in those youngsters' whereabouts.

Finally, Harry took the bottle from Alfie and put him upright against his shoulder, patting his back to make him burp. It took him only a few seconds and when he let out a small burp, Ginny and Astoria looked at him in awe.

Then he yawned and pushed his fist in his mouth to suck on it.

"Oh, I think he's tired," said Astoria, "Grandpa Draco woke you up this morning, didn't he?"

"He was already tossing in the bed," pointed out Draco.

"Sure," sighed Harry. "There," he added, giving the child back to Draco. "I'll be right back, I'll take a shower and change."

Draco placed the child in his arms and stared as he yawned again, his eyes fluttering. He touched the tip of his grandson's nose with his fingertip and smiled as the child grabbed it.

He brought his mouth closer to Alfie's ear. "Sleep tight, Alfred Malfoy," he whispered, "Grandpa Draco is going to be right here to watch over you until you wake up."

Alfie gurgled an answer and finally fell asleep again.

oooOOOooo

"Lily?" Scorpius called sleepily.

"Hmm?" she murmured. "Sorry, Scorpius I think I fell asleep again…"

He chuckled softly against her hair and whispered, "I asked you if you knew when all those people are going back home…"

"My Mum said when Alfie is off to Hogwarts," she replied gently, a smile tugging at her lips as she imagined Scorpius' face.

"Eleven years?" he gasped against her ear.

She grabbed his hand and brought it on her belly under the covers. "Might be twelve," she reminded him.

He brushed his thumb over the swell of her baby bump. "We're not going to tell them that you're pregnant, are we?" he asked her. "I mean, they'll never leave us alone if they know that we're having another child. Your grandparents might want to move in as well…"

She giggled and turned to face him, leaning her head against his chest. "It could be fun…"

"Lily…"

She giggled again. "I love you, Scorpius," she whispered, raising her eyes to look at him, before proceeding to kiss him.

He smiled against her lips. "I love you too, Lily," he told her and then he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to him.

And then they waited for someone to come and wake them up all over again, this time with promises of dirty nappies, a chat in the sunroom and some breakfast.

Fin

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I really hope you enjoyed this epilogue. I wanted it to be exactly like this, I like it and I hope you liked it too.

I'm a bit sad and a bit relieved to be posting the last chapter. Sad because I'll be missing the whole regular posting and waiting for feedback thingy of the past few months. Relieved because this story was truly a failure for the number of reviews I received for it. No, no. I don't need anybody to send me hugs or anything. I recognise that it was not good enough and that's it, it's not your fault it's mine. The bad thing was that it honestly depressed me for quite a while and I couldn't write for weeks, I was on the verge of a hiatus. Now I'm participating to some fests on Livejournal and the muse seems to be back. The fact that I won't have to wait for more comments that will never arrive will help the mood too.

That said, expect more stories from me once the reveals are up in the various fests. Not before naturally. I wrote a story for hp-het-taboo in the meantime. It's called _Carousel_ and it's a Ron/Ginny and Hugo/Lily NC-17 story. I like it, but it's not for everyone.

Thank you to my faithful readers, reviewers, supporters. You made my day a little bit brighter.

Love to all. xx


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